Fungi --> Zygomycota --> Entomophthoromycetes

Massospora cicadina

Life Cycle

Direct, single host: Magicicada (13 and 17-year periodical cicada species)

M. cicadina infects cicadas while larvae are underground. When young cicada nymphs eclose (emerge from the egg), conidiaspores (asexual reproductive spores) are formed at the end of the insect abdomen and make it appear to have a white cap. These castrate the cicada and can infect other adult cicadas. They are also distributed as infected cicadas shed. Infected males cannot mate, and females cannot lay eggs.

Williams, Kathy S., and Chris Simon. "The ecology, behavior, and evolution of periodical cicadas." Annual review of entomology 40.1 (1995): 269-295.

Host Information

Host behavior is important in facilitating transmission, and there is even evidence that M. cicadina manipulates it. A study found psychoactive compounds like cathinone in cicadas infected by M. cicadina, and psilocybin in those infected by a similar fungus, M. levispora. Among entomopathogenic fungi like M. cicadina, such a reliance on active host transmission behavior is a rare phenotype where a fungus manipulates the host to be more active to aid distribution during sporulation. More research is still needed to understand this mechanism as it relates to this system.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1754504819300352

Distribution

This parasite infects periodical cicadas found in eastern North America.