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BACKGROUND: Alternatives to neonicotinoids against cereal aphids are needed to mitigate aphid resistance and non‐target effects. The emulsifiable oil formulations of two Beauveria bassiana strains, namely Bb registered as a mycoinsecticide and TBb overexpressing an endogenous virulence factor, were tested for seasonal control of cereal aphids at the elongating (April 7) to milk ripening (May 12) stages of winter wheat crop in Yuhang, Zhejiang. Each of three field trials consisted of blank control and the treatments (three randomized 100‐m2 plots per capita) of each fungal strain sprayed biweekly at rates of 1.0 × 1013 and 1.5 × 1013 conidia ha−1 and 10% imidacloprid WP sprayed biweekly at a label rate. RESULTS: Tiller infestation percentage and aphid density in the 5‐week field trials after the first spray were reduced to 18.7–22.4% and 9.1–12.4 aphids per tiller in the fungal treatments, and 12.8–25.3% and 2.8–20.9 aphids per tiller in the chemical treatment, contrasting with 49.2–60.3% and 37.1–108.5 aphids per tiller in the control. Percent control efficacies (±SD) computed with weekly aphid densities over the period averaged 84.0 ± 1.6 and 85.3 ± 1.8 versus 78.0 ± 4.0 and 79.9 ± 3.2 in the high‐rate versus low‐rate treatments of Bb and TBb, respectively, and 84.5 ± 7.8 in the chemical treatment. Imidacloprid showed faster kill action but more variable efficacy than the fungal treatments throughout the trials. CONCLUSION: Either Bb or TBb formulation competes with imidacloprid in reducing percent infestation and aphid density. The overall efficacy was significantly higher in the treatments of TBb than of Bb. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]