Beauveria brongniartii

Beauveria brongniartii is an entomopathogenic ascomycete fungus prevalent in various ecosystems, including forest soils, alpine grasslands, and peat bogs. Known for its effectiveness against coleopteran pests, particularly the European cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) and forest cockchafer (M. hippocastani), B. brongniartii has been widely adopted in biological control strategies across Europe, primarily within agriculture and forestry. Since the early 1990s, commercial formulations like Melocont, Pilzgerste (Agrifutur, Italy) and Beauveria–Schweizer (E. Schweizer Seeds, Switzerland) have been used extensively to control cockchafer populations. These products typically use sterile barley kernels colonized with fungal spores, which are applied to soil to target cockchafer larvae and other life stages, demonstrating significant efficacy in reducing pest populations The application of B. brongniartii offers a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides, with studies showing that the ......read more on Wikipedia.