Cordyceps tuberculata on adult moth - Trashiyangtse, Bhutan

Cordyceps tuberculata on adult moth

This is Cordyceps tuberculata on an adult moth from Trashiyangtse in the far east of Bhutan. A 570 km drive from the base in Thimphu took three days of driving to get to the Bumderling Wildlife Sanctuary. Usually this is only found in the anamorph state - Akanthomyces pistilariiformis. occasionally there may be a few perithecia present. This specimen has plenty of perithecia present as cream yellow conical structures. The Akanthomyces anamorph was on the synnemata. This moth is about 40-50 mm long. It always amazes me that the fungus can start to grow out from the moth and cement it to the underside of a leaf after the moth has come to rest but before it has died.