A recombinant baculovirus is provided with a genetic coding sequence for the production of a foreign protein that is toxic to insects. Preferred are nuclear polyhedrosis viruses, with preferred embodiments having been constructed and expressed in insect cells: BmNPV.AaIT and AcNPV.AaIT. Both embodiments function in insect cells infected therewith so as to have the toxin AaIT (originating from the venom of the scorpion A. australis) secreted. A clone designated (pCIB4223), which contains the Bombyx mori signal sequence fused to the AaIT sequence, has been deposited with the American type culture collection and designated “ATCC 40906.”