Over the last decades, a few fungal species have been mentioned in the literature associated with the rubber tree lace bug, Leptopharsa heveae Drake & Poor (Hemiptera: Tingidae). The rubber plantation area treated with these biocontrol agents has been steady since the 1990s, estimated in 10,000–15,000 ha per year. A few large-scale rubber operations, one biocontrol company, and three government-owned laboratories were, and currently one still is, involved in their commercialization. One species, currently referred to as Sporothrix insectorum, has been historically deployed in biocontrol applications in Brazilian rubber farms. However, L. heveae–infecting isolates have only been identified through morphological examinations; therefore, proper molecular assessments are needed for accurate identifications. Hence, DNA of six L. heveae–infecting isolates (five of which have been deployed in field applications) were extracted and sequenced. Multigene phylogeny found that both Simplicillium lanosoniveum and Cordyceps (formerly Isaria) sp. have been sprayed on rubber plantations to manage L. heveae populations, although the former is the only one currently applied. Simplicillium lanosoniveum and Cordyceps sp. have no relation whatsoever to true Sporothrix species associated with human and animal diseases. Therefore, our molecular data may encourage biocontrol companies to register mycoinsecticides targeting L. heveae. We also added unpublished historical accounts after contacting key contributors to the launching of this not so well-known biocontrol program in the 1980s.

在过去的几十年里，在与橡胶树花边虫相关的文献中提到了一些真菌物种，Leptoharsa heveae Drake & Poor（半翅目：Tingidae）。自 1990 年代以来，用这些生物防治剂处理的橡胶种植园面积一直稳定，估计每年 10,000-15,000 公顷。一些大型橡胶企业、一家生物防治公司和三个政府拥有的实验室已经参与商业化，目前仍有一家参与其中。一种物种，目前被称为昆虫孢子丝菌，历史上一直用于巴西橡胶农场的生物防治应用。然而，橡胶树– 感染分离株仅通过形态学检查确定；因此，准确的鉴定需要适当的分子评估。因此，提取并测序了六个感染L.heveae 的分离株（其中五个已部署在现场应用中）的 DNA。多基因系统发育发现Simplicillium lanosoniveum和冬虫夏草（以前称为Isaria） sp。已喷洒在橡胶种植园以管理L. heveae种群，尽管前者是目前唯一应用的。Simplicillium lanosoniveum和Cordyceps sp。与真正的孢子丝菌没有任何关系与人类和动物疾病有关的物种。因此，我们的分子数据可能会鼓励生物防治公司注册针对L. heveae 的杀真菌剂。在与 1980 年代启动这个不太知名的生物防治计划的主要贡献者联系后，我们还添加了未发表的历史记录。