THE SPORE-SAC FUNGI 



575 



the body-cavity is entirely filled. The caterpillar soon becomes sluggish and dies. 

 The fungus continues to grow until it has completely appropriated all of the 

 insect's soft parts, externally a perfect caterpillar but internally completely filled 

 with mycelial threads. Under favorable conditions this mycelial caterpillar, which 

 has become a storage 

 organ, will send up an 

 orange-red club-shaped 

 body, as will be seen in 

 Figure 492, and will 

 produce the kind of 

 spores described above. 

 Under some conditions 

 this mycelial caterpillar 

 may be made to pro- 

 duce a dense growth of 

 threads from its entire 

 surface, looking like a 

 small white ball, and 

 from these threads an- 

 other kind O'f spore is 

 formed. These spores 

 are pinched off in great 

 numbers and will ger- 

 minate in the larva the 

 same as the sac spore. 

 The specimens were 

 found by Mrs. E. B. 

 Blackford near Boston, 

 and photographed by 

 Dr. Kellerman. figure 492. Cordyceps military. 



Cordyccps capitata. Fr. 



This plant is fleshy, capitate, head ovate, bay-brown, stem yellow, then 

 blackish. 



This plant is parasitic on Elaphomyces granulatus. It is shown at the base 

 of the stem of the plant. It grows two or three inches under the surface and 

 somewhat resembles a truffle in appearance. 



