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Animalia >Arthropoda >Insecta >Coleoptera >Coccinelidae >Illeis >

Some insects feed on fungi and have names of their primary food fungus as a part of their Japanese common names (e.g., "Kinoko-mushi"-meaning mushroom-feeding insects). Some other insects feed on microbes. The ladybeetle Illeis koebelei belongs to the genus Illeis and feeds on fungi of the family Erysiphaceae, which parasitize leaves of many plant species and cause a disease well known as powdery mildew. This fungus is a principal pathogen in indoor cultivation, where humidity is generally high. The mouthparts of both larvae and adults of this beetle are specialized to scrape off fungus spores and hyphae. As the beetle does not feed on any other food, it may be used as a biological agent against powdery mildew in the near future.

(Data No.momo050211ik01b)

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