Furia ithacensis is a species of the pathogenic fungus in America that causes a fatal disease in flies, specifically snipe flies (
Rhagio sp.). The infected 'zombified' fly-host makes its a journey to some vegetation, normally the underside of a leaf and most often during the evening hours. By morning, the fly will already have been dead for hours. Its fungus-ridden cadaver will be perched on the leaf with its wings spread as though ready to take flight. Its dead body is bound to the leaf by hundreds of
hyphae. The hyphae are specialized so that they grab the leaf with a strong sucker-like protrusions. The cadaver attracts new fly victims, especially searching males that are prompted by their sexual attraction to these flies. During the night, the fungus had been busy producing and expelling
spores. These spores showered the environment surrounding the fly cadaver, so, as curious flies inspect the cadaver, they pick up the fungal spores, and the infection cycle starts again. The forest tent caterpillar (FTC),
Malacosoma disstria (
Lepidoptera:
Lasiocampidae), is a cyclic defoliator (leaf eater) of North American forests, including Florida, and from
Maryland and
New York (state).
Furia crustosa is now classed as a synonym of
Furia gastropachae. The fungus
Furia gastropachae has long been associated with FTC population decline. The species of fungus rarely infects species outside the genus
Malacosoma. In 2002, Resting spores were observed even within the cadavers infected by other resting spores, a phenomenon not previously observed among the
Entomophthorales. This allows the fungus to initiate cycles of secondary infection via
conidia'. Also, host infection by resting spores was highest at intermediate levels of soil moisture. Infection of fourth instar larvae by resting spores and conidia was maximized at cooler temperatures (of 10 to 20 °C).
Furia vomitoriae affects
bluebottle flies (
Diptera:
Calliphoridae). It forms masses of
conidiophores erupting through the intersegmental areas (or clear bands) on the abdominal dorsum of the flies in
Mexico. ==Species==