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Muscled out?

Locusts might become endangered following the recent approval of the world's first bioinsecticide against the insects. Named Green Muscle, the fungal pesticide spray, made by South Africa (SA)-based Biological Control Products has been cleared for sale in the country. The spray contains spores of Metarhizium anisopliae, a fungus that invades and kills locusts and grasshoppers but is harmless to beneficial insects. It kills nine out of every 10 locusts within 21 days of its spraying, says researcher David Dent, who helped develop Green Muscle (New Scientist, Vol 160, No 2162).

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