Cordyceps militaris: medicinal “Herb That Eats Caterpillars”

V.Yu. Kryukov, O.N. Yaroslavtseva

The world of fungi is amazingly rich and diverse: they are justly united into a separate kingdom, along with the kingdoms of animals and plants. However, our knowledge about these creatures is mainly confined to cooking and medical applications.

Fungi can parasitize not only mammals: two thousand fungal species live at the expense of various invertebrates, including about one thousand of entomopathogenic species, i.e., the species affecting insects. In addition, several species of such fungi synthesize biologically active substances, which can be successfully used in pharmacology for designing efficient drugs...

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