Isaria cf. cicadae

Particularly about this genus and some other Ophiocordyceps species they do not cause any adverse effects at least by handling and even these fungi have many important phytochemicals so are also used in medicines.

So we can atleast handle almost all macro fungi without any concern but keeping in mind that we are not inhaling its spores from its matured fruiting body and not ingesting it.

And yes thanks for your concern … 🙂 

Isaria genus is still a less worked genus at least in Indian Subcontinent with probably many species that are still undescribed, many species look much similar in morphology with only little differences, so one should be an expert who can examine the specimens microscopic details and can also do more phylogenetic analysis. 

A reply from an entomopathogenic expert Nigel Hywel-Jones about my I. cicadae – 

… this is certainly an Isaria on a cicada nymph. I am working on this group in China but would hesitate to put a name to it for now. Several species have been described from around the World but none from the Indian sub-continent. With an old morphology based study of insect pathogenic isarioid fungi all those species off cicada nymphs were reduced to a single name – Isaria cicadae. As with many insect fungus groups molecular phylogenetics is demonstrating that what was once considered one species turns out to be several. This is beginning to prove the case also for cicada Isaria.’

So for now it will be better to make species page as Isaria cf. cicadae for this one. 

While in the other two cases as host is not known so it can be either Isaria cf. cicadae if host was a cicada nymph or if some lepidoptera its likely something in Isaria tenuipes complex which comprises several undescribed species and is known from South East Asia. 

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