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Muscardine
Fungal disease of insects / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Muscardine is a disease of insects. It is caused by many species of entomopathogenic fungus. Many muscardines are known for affecting silkworms.[1] Muscardine may also be called calcino.[2]
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While studying muscardine in silkworms in the 19th century, Agostino Bassi found that the causal agent was a fungus. This was the first demonstration of the germ theory of disease, the first time a microorganism was recognized as an animal pathogen.[3] There are many types of muscardine. They are often named for the color of the conidial layer each fungus leaves on its host.[1]