Ophiocordyceps Conference Xining, Recent publications & MushRoaming Tours in Tibet
The June 9/10, 2010 International conference onOphiocordyceps sinensis (冬虫夏草, Yartsa Gunbu, Caterpillar fungus) hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and co-sponsored by the Center of Grassland Monitoring and Management and WWF was held in Xining, Qinghai Province PRC. Down below some articles to download.
Check out the subtitled photo report on the 2010 Cordyceps Tour
Here my updated conference contribution for downloading:
(last version 6-11-2010).
I will write more about the conference soon.
Furthermore, here for download a recently published PDF article on Cordyceps sinensis in somewhat a travelogue form with focus on Yartsa gunbu in Northwest Yunnan. Here the full reference: "Winkler, D. 2010. Cordyceps sinensis - A precious parasitic fungus infecting Tibet. In: Field Mycology 11.2: 60-67."
I found my biggest caterpillar fungus ever in Xining!
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Tags: International Cordyceps Conference Xining June 9-10 2010
Dear Daniel, I had a field day seeing your Cordyceps pictures and stories.
They are very informative!
I take this opportunity to inform you that one of our Bhutanese photographers managed to locate an uninfected caterpillar, and take a picture of it. You can see the picture at http://www.yesheydorji.blogspot.com/. Would love to hear your comments.
Warmest regards, Phuntsho Namgyel
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Thanks for the appreciation Phuntsho Namgyel!
Yeshi Dorji's picture of a larva is beautiful. I am not sure if it really is a ghost moth (Thitarodes sp.) larvae. Most larvae I have seen have been already taken over by Ophiocordyceps sinensis. And I have not seen a larva that had such a white body with a black "head' parasitized by O.s..
In Kongpo [Nyingchi / Linzhi Prefecture, SE Tibet AR, especially in Dungdor or Mainling (Menling), Nyingchi and Lang (Nang) Counties], there is a very white larva known as "bu karpo", Tibetan for "white worm" that gets infected by Ophiocordyceps.
I just saw some fresh ones for sale last week (July 23) during the summer MushRoaming tour in a village near Draktsum Tso / Basong Tso. They were very whitish and also it seemed very late in the season, but I was told it was typical for "bu karpo".
I plan to write more on it later.
Here a picture of small larva of a "regular" yartsa gunbu I dug up in 2006 at Kongpo Barla.
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