Hesperomyces is a genus of fungi in the family Laboulbeniaceae. The genus contains at least fifteen species.
Most of them are ectoparasites of ladybugs (Coccinellidae), only He. biphylli is reported from Biphyllidae and He. catopii from Mycetophagidae, but their status as species within the genus needs confirmation.
The type species is the Green Beetle Hanger (Hesperomyces virescens). H. virescens (s.l.) is a complex of species. He. harmoniae, a member of this complex, is an ectoparasite of an invasive species to Europe and the Americas, the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis). Laboratory bioassays pointed out that He. virescens (s.l.)-infected ladybirds suffered increased mortality rates.
The fungus completes its entire life cycle on the tough outer layer or integument of a living host where individual fruiting bodies or thalli are formed directly from ascospores. The thalli can form on any part of the insect, but spore germination likely only occurs once the host cuticle has hardened. The spores are believed to have a short life span. Due to the spores' sticky nature, they are not transmitted by contact with substrate or the air. Instead they are spread directly by host activities and it is suggested that transmission occurs during feeding and mating season when sexual contact occurs, therefore making H. virescens (s.l.) a sexually transmitted disease of insects. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Species Hesperomyces virescens species complex or He. virescens sensu lato (s.l.): Hesperomyces chilocori-bipustulati Hesperomyces coccinellae-transversalis Hesperomyces halyziae Hesperomyces harmoniae Hesperomyces parexochomi Hesperomyces virescens (He. virescens s.s.) Other species: Hesperomyces auriculatus Hesperomyces biphylli Hesperomyces catopii Hesperomyces chilomenis Hesperomyces coccinelloides Hesperomyces coleomegillae Hesperomyces hyperaspidis Hesperomyces palustris Hesperomyces papuanus
He. coccinelloides may be a species complex.
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