Muscardine

thumb|right|140px|A cockroach with muscardine caused by M. anisopliae. Muscardine is a disease of insects. It is caused by many species of entomopathogenic fungus. Many muscardines are known for affecting silkworms. Muscardine may also be called calcino.

While studying muscardine in silkworms in the 19th century, Agostino Bassi found that the causal agent was a fungus. This was the first demonstration of the germ theory of disease, the first time a microorganism was recognized as an animal pathogen. There are many types of muscardine. They are often named for the color of the conidial layer each fungus leaves on its host.