HOVERFLY INFESTED WITH ENTOMOPHTHORA MUSCAE
Recently I took these photographs of an insect hanging inside one of my Swingtime fuchsia flowers. Although the insect looked alive, it was dead. Thankfully so, as it turned out. I couldn't identify it immediately but on doing a bit of research it seems to be a hoverfly (it has short antennae), rather than a bee or wasp, which has succumbed to an infestation of Entomophthora muscae. Entomophthora muscae is a pathogenic fungus. What I found so disturbingly fascinating is that it looks almost like wax, and it has formed in a way that it seems like it is a natural part of the insect's abdomen. I thought for a while that I had discovered a rare insect. Even more sadly, the insect looks as if it also suffered from mites. The poor thing.
You may find this external webpage re Entomophthora muscae of interest (wimastergardener.org)
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| Hoverfly infested with Entomophthora muscae on trailing fuchsia Swingtime - 26 August 2016 |
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| Hoverfly infested with Entomophthora muscae
on trailing fuchsia Swingtime - 26 August 2016.
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You may find this external webpage re Entomophthora muscae of interest (wimastergardener.org)