Beauveria cubensis sp. nov. (Hypocreales, Cordycipitaceae), a New Species of Insect-Pathogenic Fungi from Cuba

(1) Background: Beauveria-based bioinsecticides are in wide use globally. Beauveria strains were sampled from different sugarcane plantations across Cuba for biocontrol development targeting the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis. (2) Methods: Fungal isolates LBB-2, LBB-7, and LBB-8 were characterized by morphological, morphometric, microscopic, and molecular taxonomic analyses. Cryptic descriptions of related fungi were identified by GenBank and BOLD database mining. (3) Results: Analyses demonstrated that the fungal strains were most closely related to, but different from all currently recognized entomopathogenic fungal species of the Beauveria bassiana species complex and represent a new fungal species. Members of the species appear intercontinentally distributed and associated with both insects and plants. (4) Conclusions: The species designation “Beauveria cubensis” was proposed for the new taxon. Sugarcane plant association of presumed B. cubensis fungi indicated the potential of innovative biocontrol strategies targeting D. saccharalis.