Abstract

A method of infecting insects is disclosed; the method utilizes a form of a baculovirus which is highly efficient at establishing infection and is normally destined to become occluded within the polyhedrin or granulin--Pre-occluded Virus (POV). Specifically, the POV as derived from a polyhedrin-minus or granulin-minus (lacking a functional polyhedrin or granulin gene) baculovirus is fed to insect larvae per os resulting in high infection rates. The stabilization and use of the POV form of polyhedrin-minus baculoviruses as an insecticide is also disclosed.