1837 Spaeronaema huegeli Corda 1840 Ophiocordyceps robertsii, known in New Zealand as vegetable caterpillar (Māori: āwhato or āwheto[1]) is an entomopathogenic fungus belonging to the order Hypocreales (Ascomycota) in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae.

[2] It invades the caterpillars of leaf-litter dwelling moths and turns them into fungal mummies, sending up a fruiting spike above the forest floor to shed its spores.

Evidence of this fungus can be seen when small brown stems push through the forest floor: underneath will be the dried remains of the host caterpillar.

[3] This species was first thought by Europeans to be a worm or caterpillar that burrowed from the top of a tree to the roots, where it exited and then grew a shoot of the plant out of its head.

[3] Ophiocordyceps robertsii has a genome that is relatively large for species in the Ophiocordycipitaceae family, estimated at between of 95-103 million base pairs.