What is the Ganoderma mushroom pest Bradysia minpleuroti

Bradysia minpleuroti Yang et Zhang, also known as the pointed-eye mushroom gnat, mushroom gnat, mushroom maggot, etc. It belongs to the order Diptera, family Sciaridae.

1. Morphology and habits: The adult is 2.8-4.2 mm long, dark brown; the compound eyes are long oval, with the two eyes extending into an eye bridge; the antennae have 16 segments, brown, 1.2-1.3 mm long. The wings are light smoky-colored, with 3 thick longitudinal veins, 1.8-2.2 mm long and 0.8-0.9 mm wide; the legs are yellow and slender. The abdomen has 8 segments with fine hairs; the female is larger than the male, and the male claspers are pincer-shaped, with the two end segments curving inward. The egg is oval, initially white, later yellow. The pupa is yellowish brown. The larva is maggot-shaped, 6-8 mm long, milky white, with a black head.

It likes to lay eggs on livestock manure, garbage, humus, and moist waste materials and casing soil. The adult is phototactic, has strong flying ability, and has the habit of living in groups and spinning silk while crawling.

2. Damage: The larvae damage the mycelium and fruiting bodies of Ganoderma. The larvae mostly feed on the surface of the substrate, biting off and consuming the mycelium, causing the surface to turn black and become loose like rice bran. At the same time, they bore into the stipe and cap, hollowing out the interior and leaving many pinhead-sized wormholes on the outside. Sometimes the adults lay eggs on the cap, and the larvae bore downward to feed. The damaged fruiting bodies cannot continue to develop.

3. Control methods are the same as those for fungus gnats.