On the trail of a fungi

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Well, I have successfully moved back into my home and before I ponder too long as to the whys and wherefore art thou mite? I am going to instead focus on the fungus that has remained in my home and which may have a name (or at least a type of name). ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGIIf you have not heard that term before, this may very well be what we have been dealing with. Consider the following article:Entomopathogenic fungi, or fungi that cause diseases on insects, were

among the first organisms used for the biological control of pests. However, these fungi have only been recently recognized as important in integrated pest management (IPM).

A study presented at SEARCA’s Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) on 21 June 2011 emphasized this importance. In his study, Dr. Yayan Sanjaya, SEARCA PhD Research Scholar and Senior Instructor at Indonesia University of Education, found three species of entomopathogenic fungi, namely: Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana, and Paecilomyces lilicanus as effective against spider mite, Tetranychus kanzawai (T. kanzawai) in papaya seedlings.

T. kanzawai is commonly found in Southeast Asia. In the

Philippines, it usually infests cassava and papaya plants, severely damaging even the older leaves, and sometimes, the seedlings. Its serious damage causes the leaves to dry up, thus, reducing photosynthetic activity of the plant.

Among the species, M. anisopliae isolate 5, M. anisopliae isolate 6, and B. bassiana isolate 6 proved

to be effective against spider mites, having the fastest transmission of fungal infection of around two to four days. This is relatively faster than other entomopathogenic fungi that transmit infection in five

days.

Using entomopathogenic fungi is an advantage in IPM as: 1) they are important natural enemies of arthropods, capable of infecting them directly through their protective layer; 2) their cultivation is easy and fairly cheap; and 3) they can be found under different ecological conditions.Really? two to four days? Does that sound familiar? How many times have we had one or two days of peace only to be swarmed later on? I can not take credit for this idea though, rather Dr. Sparagano seems to think so. I wrote him a few days ago (here is an excerpt)I am beginning to wonder if the mites and fungus are not on the same team. The fungus seems to have been thriving here, but not so the mites. Of course it is possible that the mites simply left for greener pastures, but given your story of the couple who discovered mites year after year when returning to a vacation home, I found that difficult to believe. However, this is all speculation on my part, but it does seem to be substantiated by responses from people in my forum who describe to

me bird mite attacks followed by this fungus. So, perhaps the fungus kills the mite or evacuates them from the home. I leave that sleuthing in your hands. I am curious though. You say that fungus formed on a bag that had bird mites in it. Were the bird mites alive when you removed them?

I am also concerned as there seems to be ever increasing word of people being plagued by bird mites. One Pest Control Tech even told a forum member that bird mites have been found to be able to live off of humans (well 30% of the human population anyway seems to be able to feed

a bird mite). Stories are circulating and people and animals are really getting sick.

As for me, I pray that my ordeal is behind me. I do not believe that I am that lucky however. Many forum members have fought their bird

mite infestations for years. But if all that is left is this fungus to

battle, then I think I am at least 50% done. Although, these little stabs are very uncomfortable. It feels as though they are trying to penetrate the skin and when they do, they leave behind little red marks. Again, pictures to soon follow.

And his most recent email reply:Dear TerryYes

the mites were alive when we found the fungi in the collection bag but many mites died in the following days at a higher rate so I think the fungi were entomopathogenic towards the mites but it does not mean they would not be a problem also for humans.I

do not have contact in the USA for mite collaborations but for ticks so

not really useful in this case. I have published a paper with colleagues in Italy showing dermatitis in humans (co-signed by Dr Cafiero), we could compare the rash for instance to see if they are similar.Let me know how it goes for collecting samples.Best wishesOlivierI will be sending pictures of my rash along with pix of the fungus and things. I would also like to send along some of Kayjay's images. If any of you have pictures of the rash (in my case, it is more like just a bunch of little dots all collected close to each other), then that would be useful to send along as well. I think if we can demonstrate a similarity from a variety of hosts, that will be very convincing. I am very concerned that the government(s) are thinking that this fungi a useful tool to use against the mite. It does not seem that much consideration has been given to the human as a possible host for the fungi. I have no idea if the infections (Lyme, Bart, Bab, etc.) are as a result of the mite or the fungi or both. But it would be interesting to know. As to Morg sufferers, I did notice on one web site that Entomopathogenic fungi was actually a consideration for the reason why one can contract Morgellons. I hope we can pool our thoughts and pictures and ideas and continue to press home the idea that this fungi may be as disastrous to humans as mites.Thanks everyone for all your help.Best, Terry