Mb. Thomas et al., BETWEEN-SEASON SURVIVAL OF THE GRASSHOPPER PATHOGEN METARHIZIUM FLAVOVIRIDE IN THE SAHEL, Biocontrol science and technology, 6(4), 1996, pp. 569-573
A study is presented showing that the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhi
zium flavoviride, can persist in fragments of infected grasshopper cad
aver and survive the Sahelian dry season. A significant positive relat
ionship was identified between the probability of mortality at the beg
inning of one season and the density of infected cadavers present in t
he habitat at the end of the previous season. Furthermore, survival an
alysis revealed a steady decline in the mean survival time of grasshop
pers exposed to the infected habitats as the density of infected cadav
ers used to seed the habitat increased The consequences of these findi
ngs are discussed in the context of the use of M. flavoviride for locu
st and grasshopper control.