Indirect biological control of the coffee leaf rust, Hemileia vastatrix, by the entomogenous fungus Lecanicillium lecanii in a complex coffee agroecosystem

► Lecanicillium lecanii (a fungus) attacks coffee rust, Hemileia vastatrix, and coffee scale, Coccus viridis. ► Negative relationship between H. vastatrix and L. lecanii outbreak in previous year. ► L. lecanii associated with foci of C. viridis tended by an ant Azteca instabilis. ► Control of coffee rust influenced by spatial distribution of A. instabilis colonies.