Metarhizium anisopliae

Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungus, the type species in the Metarhizium genus. It grows naturally in soils throughout the world and causes disease in various insects by acting as a parasitoid. Ilya I. Mechnikov named it Entomophthora anisopliae after the insect species from which it was originally isolated – the beetle Anisoplia austriaca and from these early days, fungi such as this have been seen as potentially important tools for pest management. It is a mitosporic fungus with asexual reproduction.