An epizootic on Meimuna boninensis (Distant) (Homoptera : Cicadidae), caused by Massospora sp. (Zygomycetes : Entomophthorales) and Nomuraea cylindrospora (Deuteromycotina : Hyphomycetes) in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, Japan

Abstract

An epizootic caused by Massospora and Nomuraea species occurred in a population of cicada, Meimuna boninensis, an indigenous species of the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. The infection rate of Massospora sp. was 34.4%, and the abdominal cavity of the host was filled with resting spores which were brownish, and spherical, (av. 41 μm in diameter) with reticular ornamentation. The infection rate of Nomuraea cylindrospora was 16.7%, and greenish long (av. 21.4×4.3 μm) and short (av. 4.6×2.7μm) conidia were formed on phialide in chains. M. boninensis is recognized as a new host species for these fungi. The genus Massospora has not been recorded in Japan since 1946.