Beauveria Bassiana Safe for Beneficial Insects, but Avoid Spraying Where Bees Forage

By Lori Moshman, Rodrigo Diaz and Dennis Ring, LSU AgCenter

The insecticide Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that occurs naturally in soil. Many strains exist and can vary in host range, pathogenicity (ability to infect a host) and virulence (ability to multiply in the host). The fungus was first isolated in 1835 by Italian scientist Agostino Bassi, who found that it killed and mummified silkworm larvae in what was called muscardine disease.