Peri-urban ecosystems represent underexplored habitats rich in entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) that can serve as valuable resources for managing insect pests. This study characterized the EPF communities in two peri-urban sites near Patras, Greece (Dasyllio and Elos), during 2018–2019. Soil samples were collected seasonally, and fungi were isolated using insect baiting with Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val and Sitophilus zeamais Motsch., a selective method favoring generalist, fast-acting entomopathogens. A total of 814 isolates were recovered. Of a randomly selected subset (n = 177) subjected to molecular identification, 46.9% were characterized as known EPF, while 53.1% were classified as putative EPF based on taxonomic affiliation (ITS sequence similarity ≥ 99%), pending confirmation of pathogenicity. The Dasyllio site yielded more isolates (63.4%) than Elos (36.6%). Seasonal trends strongly influenced EPF occurrence, with infective fungi peaking in spring and summer (p < 0.001), while community diversity remained stable throughout the year, with the highest evenness (Evenness Index = 0.93) observed in autumn. These results highlight peri-urban green spaces as reservoirs of diverse and ecologically stable EPF, suggesting their potential as sources of biocontrol agents for future development and seasonal integration into pest management strategies.
Mantzoukas et al. (Tue,) studied this question.