Discovering the Insect-Munching Fungi: A New Global Database

Insects and other tiny critters are vital parts of our planet's ecosystems. Among them, certain fungi play a big role in keeping populations in check. These fungi, called entomopathogenic fungi, specifically attack insects and arthropods. One group, the Hypocreales, has been overlooked by scientists for a long time. We know they're important, but we didn’t have much info about which insects they target or where they live. To fill this gap, researchers have created EntomoFun 1. 0, a worldwide database that gathers all known details about these fungi and the insects they infect. It has over 1, 700 records, detailing the fungi species, insect hosts, where they're found, life stages affected, and where the info comes from. This database was built using 600 scientific papers and specimens from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. The goal is to help scientists test ideas, spot missing information, and plan future studies. The data is presented in a fun way–with global maps, taxonomy charts, network diagrams, and graphs. This makes it easier to see patterns and relationships between the fungi and their insect hosts. It's a helpful tool for anyone interested in how these tiny players shape our world.