Immunosuppression of insects by the venom of Habrobracon hebetor increases the sensitivity of bait method for the isolation of entomopathogenic fungi from soils

We evaluated the susceptibility of Galleria mellonella larvae immunosuppressed by the venom of Habrobracon hebetor to soil entomopathogenic ascomycetes with the use of bait method. It was found that the sensitivity of the modified method was significantly (by almost 200 times) increased as compared with the standard procedure, which provided the isolation of fungi when their abundance was extremely low. Envenomated larvae were more susceptible to the entomopathogenic but not saprotrophic fungi. We presented results of isolation of the entomopathogenic fungi from soils in different climatic zones (from the forest tundra to the steppe) using an improved procedure.