Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr.

Zha, Ling-Sheng, Kryukov, Vadim Yu, Ding, Jian-Hua, Jeewon, Rajesh & Chomnunti, Putarak, 2021, Novel taxa and species diversity of Cordyceps sensu lato (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) developing on wireworms (Elateroidea and Tenebrionoidea, Coleoptera), MycoKeys 78, pp. 79-117 : 79

Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr.

Clavaria militaris ≡ Clavaria militaris L.

Sphaeria militaris ≡ Sphaeria militaris (L.) J.F. Gmel.

Hypoxylon militare ≡ Hypoxylon militare (L.) Mérat

Xylaria militaris ≡ Xylaria militaris (L.) Gray

Corynesphaera militaris ≡ Corynesphaera militaris (L.) Dumort.

Torrubia militaris ≡ Torrubia militaris (L.) Tul. & C. Tul.

Clavaria granulosa = Clavaria granulosa Bull.

Sphaeria militaris sphaerocephala = Sphaeria militaris var. sphaerocephala J.C. Schmidt

Cordyceps militaris sphaerocephala = Cordyceps militaris f. sphaerocephala (J.C. Schmidt) Sacc.

Cordyceps militaris alba = Cordyceps militaris f. alba Kobayasi & Shimizu ex Y.J. Yao [as ‘albina’]

Hosts.

Commonly on Lepidoptera larvae and pupae, infrequently on Hymenoptera ( Kobayasi 1941; Kryukov et al. 2011).

Distribution.

Widely distributed.

Note.

Under laboratory conditions and injection of hyphal bodies into the haemocoel of insects, C. militaris can infect many insect orders ( Shrestha et al. 2012), including pupae of Tenebrio molitor ( Tenebrionidae ) ( De Bary 1867; Sato and Shimazu 2002). Therefore, the conclusion that wireworms (e.g. Tenebrio molitor ) are the natural hosts of C. militaris is probably untenable and we temporarily reject it.