Insecticide efficacy of Beauveria bassiana conidia was improved by optimizing the concentrations of conidial heat-protective saccharides (glucose, sucrose, maltose, trehalose, alpha-lactose, and mannitol) using response surface methodology. Two field trials in tea gardens were carried out to control leafhopper (Empoasca vitis) by spraying B. bassiana conidia together with the optimized saccharides (0.26 g glucose, 0.28 g lactose, 0.24 g mannitol per ml). In the field studies, B. bassiana conidia were applied to control Empoasca vitis with and without saccharides and compared with bifenthrin, a pyrethroid insecticide. With the optimal concentrations of saccharides, the conidial germination rate reached 72 % and the control efficacy of the saccharides group (65.7 %) was equal to the bifenthrin group (69.4 %), which improved by about 55 %.