The agricultural world is overloaded with chemical substances. Undesirable effects and the resistance of vermin open a new way for biological control of pathogenic species of insect. Bark beetles (Curculionidae, Scolytinae) belong to the important pests of conifers such as pines, spruces or firs. As natural inhabitants of coniferous forests, they are able to be invasive and destructive element after wind storm catastrophe or during the climate change, when plenty of broken or weaken trees are the great source of their feeding and reproduction. Ips typographus (L.) is expanded in Central Europe. Ips typographus, the most destructive species of bark beetles, has invaded the High Tatras (Slovakia) after wind storm in 2004 and has spread to relatively uninfluenced forest environment causing huge economic losses. The most common natural pathogens of spruce bark beetle are entomopathogenic fungi belonging to the order Hypocreales. Beauveria bassiana is the most important insect pathogens with a wide host range in agroecosystems or forest ecosystems of temperate climate zones. It is considered as a suitable candidate for the use in the biological strategies of pest control. During its pathogenic phase, the developing hyphae of B. bassiana directly penetrate the insect integument by producing enzymes. B. bassiana produces a cyclooligomer nonribosomal depsipeptides beauvericin and bassianolide, the diketomorpholine bassiatin, the cyclic peptides beauverolides, the dibenzoquinone oosporein, and the 2-pyridone tenellin. This enzymes have virulence ability. Virulence factors that modulate the insect immune system, and those that disable and ﬁnally kill the host.

Beauvericin as virulence factor of entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (BALS.) used on bark beetles attacking spruces

249th National Meeting (2015)

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