Fungi Outer Hebrides


Phylum: Ascomycota   Family: Orphiocordycipitaceae

Ophiocordyceps gracilis (Grev.) G.H. Sung, J.M. Sung, Hywel-Jones & Spatafora

Found on St Kilda in April 2023, a first record for the Outer Hebrides. It is parasitic on moth larvae, perhaps entirely targeting the genera Hepialus and Korscheltellus, these are the swifts. The commonest and most likely is map-winged swift (Korscheltellus fusconebulosa), which is abundant on St Kilda. It has a north-western European distribution but also found in France.

References: 
Læssøe, T. & Petersen, J.H. (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe, Volume 2.

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