The effect of four fungal species (Beauveria bassiana (B. b.), Lecanicillium (Verticillium) lecanii (L. l.), Metarhizium anisopliae var anisopliae (M. a.) and Paecilomycers farinosus (P. f.)) isolates from forest soil in Lithuania was tested on adults and one species tested on mature larvae of Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Under laboratory conditions, the insects were sprayed with conidial suspension (concentration 2.6 × 10⁶ ml^–1 conidia/ml). All the fungal isolates tested were pathogenic, however, with a different dynamics of their effect. During the first-three-day period after spraying, the highest mortality (35–40% versus control) caused by P. f. and M. a., and there was no significant difference in the survival as compared to control when B. b. and L. l. were sprayed. The median lethal time period when mortality reached 50% (LT₅₀) or 100% (LT₁₀₀) varied depending on fungus species from 1 to 5 days and from 9 to 12.3 days, respectively. P. f., was effective to P. interpunctella adults, but not to larvae of the species, as during 14 days of testing no 50% of mortality was reached.

Keywords: insects, entomopathogenic fungi