Note on the Green-Muscardine Fungus, Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metch.) Sor., as a Control for Wireworms

Abstract

The fungus Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metch.) Sor., which causes a disease in insects known as green-muscardine, was first used by Metchnikoff in 1879 to infect insects artificially. Subsequently it was widely tested as a control agent with a few encouraging results (Steinhaus, 1949).From 1951 to date the disease was common in a moderately dense population of the introduced elaterid wireworm Agriotes obscurus (L.) near Dartmouth, and much less prevalent in a very dense population of a related introduced species, A. sputator (L.), near Digby. The higher incidence of the disease near Dartmouth was tentatively attributed to the fact that this area has greater annual rainfall and is more subject to coastal fogs than is Digby. These observations led to the culturing and testing of the fungus in the laboratory and to attempts to increase the incidence of the disease at both Digby and Dartmouth by artificial dissemination of the spores in the soil.