Fungalpedia – Note 1351, Ascosphaera

 

 Ascosphaera L.S. Olive & Spiltoir, in Spiltoir & Olive, Mycologia 47(2): 242 (1955)

Eurotiomycetes, Eurotiomycetidae, Ascosphaerales, Ascosphaeraceae

Index Fungorum number: IF 10194; 28 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2021). 18 species with sequence data.

Type species – Ascosphaera apis (Maasen ex Claussen) L.S. Olive & Spiltoir

Generic description: see Spiltoir and Olive (1955)

Notes: Ascosphaera was introduced by Spiltoir and Olive (1955) to accommodate Ascosphaera alvei and A. apis. Members of this genus are specific pathogens of bee or saprobic on honeycomb (Wynns et al. 2012, 2013).

 

Entomopathogenic species: Ascosphaera aggregata Skou

Ascosphaera atra Skou & K. Hackett

Ascosphaera callicarpa A.A. Wynns

Ascosphaera duoformis D.L. Anderson & N.L. Gibson

Ascosphaera fimicola Skou

Ascosphaera subglobosa A.A. Wynns

Ascosphaera tenax Skou & S.N. Holm

 

Reference

Spiltoir CF, Olive LS 1955 – A reclassification of the genus Pericystis Betts. Mycologia 47(2), 238–244.

Wynns AA, Jensen AB, Eilenberg J, James R. 2012 – Ascosphaera subglobosa, a new spore cyst fungus from North America associated with the solitary bee Megachile rotundata. Mycologia 104(1), 108–114.

Wynns AA, Jensen AB, Eilenberg J. 2013 – Ascosphaera callicarpa, a new species of bee-loving fungus, with a key to the genus for Europe. PloS one 8(9), e73419.

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