The scientific community working in the field of insect pathology is experiencing an increasing academic and industrial interest in the discovery and development of new bioinsecticides as environmentally friendly pest control tools to be integrated, in combination or rotation, with chemicals in pest management programmes. In this scientific context, market data report a 15% annual growth of the...

The fungal pathogen Entomophaga maimaiga Humber, Shimazu, and Soper is prevalent in gypsy moth [Lymantria dispar (L.)] populations throughout North America. To understand how weather-related variables influence gypsy moth-E. maimaiga interactions in the field, we measured fungal infection rates at 12 sites in central Pennsylvania over 3 yr, concurrently measuring rainfall, soil moisture, humidi...

An entomopathogenic fungus, Entomophaga maimaiga, was found causing an extensive epizootic in outbreak populations of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, throughout many forested and residential areas of the northeastern United States. This is the first recognized occurrence of this or any entomophthoralean fungus in North American gypsy moths, and its appearance was coincident with an abnormally...

Gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, populations were sampled in four eastern North American states during 1991 and 1992 to evaluate levels of hyphomycete infection in association with releases of the Asian gypsy moth pathogen Entomophaga maimaiga. Paecilomyces farinosus was the most abundant hyphomycete species, occurring at the majority of sites, although levels of infection averaged only 4.6% (1991...