This Action focused on developing strategies for the biological control of insect pests and mites with Entomophthorales. Chemical insecticides have undergone improvements over the last decade. Nevertheless, problems relating to insect resistance and disruption of equilibria between arthropods and natural antagonists remain.
Mycoinsecticides offer solutions in this respect. The core objective of this Action was to prepare the ground for the field application of mycoinsecticides, based in particular on Entomophthoralean fungi by increasing the knowledge of their biological and ecological features and host-pathogen interactions, to develop formulations for the storage and application of fungal biomass and to establish methods for field monitoring. COST 842 markedly contributed to the fact that Europe became the center of research on Entomophthorales. A strong network with close collaborations was established which is expressed by many inter-institutional publications. The participation in this COST Action initiated several new research projects. Publication of workshop documents on the identification of Entomophthorales, on ecological work, on modelling host-Entomophthorales-interactions and on bioassays, summarised information which was widely scattered. To disseminate results to a wider audience several meetings/ workshops including the final workshop were combined with meetings of COST 850 on Biocontrol Symbiosis and with workshops of the International Organisation for BioControl (IOBC).
