Rickia wasmannii

Rickia wasmannii is a species of the widely distributed entomoparasitic order of fungi Laboulbeniales. It is an obligatory ectoparasite of ants of the genus Myrmica. The thalli penetrate outer layer of the cuticle, and appear on the host body surface. Little is known about its effect on the host ant, but it is usually regarded as a rather neutral symbiont. Contrarily, however, a recent study has documented an increased need of drinking water and a shortened life-span of infected ants. The known host species of Rickia wasmannii are various Myrmica species, the most frequent being Myrmica scabrinodis. The fungus was reported from many European countries such as Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In 2016, Pfiegler et al. showed that inquiline mites can become infected by R. wasmannii, which was thought to be restricted to the genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). This was th......read more on Wikipedia.