Ascosphaera apis

{{Short description|Species of fungus}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Ascosphaera apis (Maasen ex Claussen) L.S. Olive & Spiltoir 1324048.jpg

| genus = Ascosphaera

| species = apis

| authority = (Maasen ex Claussen) L.S.Olive & Spiltoir, 1955

}}

Ascosphaera apis is a species of fungus belonging to the family Ascosphaeraceae.{{cite web |title=Ascosphaera_apis |url=https://www.mycobank.org/page/Name%20details%20page/field/Mycobank%20%23/282572 |website=www.mycobank.org |access-date=27 January 2021}} It was one of the first entomopathogen genomes to be sequenced.{{Cite journal |last1=Qin |first1=X. |last2=Evans |first2=J. D. |last3=Aronstein |first3=K. A. |last4=Murray |first4=K. D. |last5=Weinstock |first5=G. M. |date=October 2006 |title=Genome sequences of the honey bee pathogens Paenibacillus larvae and Ascosphaera apis |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2583.2006.00694.x |journal=Insect Molecular Biology |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=715–718 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2583.2006.00694.x |pmid=17069642 |pmc=1761131 |issn=0962-1075}} It has a cosmopolitan distribution.{{cite web |title=Ascosphaera apis (Maasen ex Claussen) L.S.Olive & Spiltoir |url=https://www.gbif.org/species/2595786 |website=www.gbif.org |access-date=27 January 2021 |language=en}}

It causes the chalkbrood diseases in bees, which rarely kills infected colonies but can weaken them and lead to reduced honey yields{{Cite journal |last1=Zaghloul |first1=O. A. |last2=Mourad |first2=A. K. |last3=El Kady |first3=Magda B. |last4=Nemat |first4=F. M. |last5=Morsy |first5=M. E. |date=2005 |title=Assessment of losses in honey yield due to the chalkbrood disease, with reference to the determination of its economic injury levels in Egypt |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16628907/ |journal=Communications in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=703–714 |issn=1379-1176 |pmid=16628907}} and susceptibility to other pests and diseases.{{cite web |title=Chalkbrood Disease |url=https://beeaware.org.au/archive-pest/chalkbrood/#ad-image-0 |access-date=8 May 2022}}