Brown marmorated stink bug

Brown marmorated stink bug
Adult
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Pentatomidae
Genus: Halyomorpha
Species: H. halys
Binomial name
Halyomorpha halys
Stål

Halyomorpha halys, the brown marmorated stink bug, or simply the stink bug, is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, and it is native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.[1] It was accidentally introduced into the United States, with the first specimen being collected in September 1998.[2] The brown marmorated stink bug is considered to be an agricultural pest,[3] and by 2010-11 has become a season-long pest in U.S. orchards.[4]

Contents

Description

The adults are approximately 1.7 centimetres (0.67 in) long and about as wide, forming the "shield" shape characteristic of other stink bugs. They are various shades of brown on both the top and undersides, with gray, off-white, black, copper, and blueish markings. Markings unique to this species include alternating light bands on the antennae and alternating dark bands on the thin outer edge of the wings. The legs are brown with faint white mottling or banding. The stink glands are located on the underside of the thorax, between the first and second pair of legs, and on the dorsal surface of the abdomen.[5]

Behavior

It is an agricultural pest that can cause widespread damage to fruit and vegetable crops. In Japan it is a pest to soybean and fruit crops. In the U.S., the brown marmorated stink bug feeds, beginning in late May or early June, on a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and other host plants including peaches, apples, green beans, soybeans, cherry, raspberries, and pears. It is a sucking insect, a "true bug", that uses its proboscis to pierce the host plant in order to feed. This feeding results, in part, in the formation of dimpled or necrotic areas on the outer surface of fruits, leaf stippling, seed loss, and possible transmission of plant pathogens.

The brown marmorated stink bug is more likely to invade homes in the fall than others in the family.[6] The bug survives the winter as an adult by entering houses and structures when autumn evenings become colder. Adults can live from several months to a year.[7][8] They will enter under siding, into soffits, around window and door frames, or any space which has openings big enough to fit through. Once inside the house, they will go into a state of hibernation. They wait for winter to pass, but often the warmth inside the house causes them to become active, and they may fly clumsily around light fixtures.

The odor from the stinkbug is due to trans-2-decenal and trans-2-Octenal.[9] The smell has been characterized as a "pungent odor that smells like cilantro."[4]

The stinkbug's ability to emit an odor through holes in its abdomen is a defense mechanism meant to prevent it from being eaten by birds and lizards. However, simply handling the bug, injuring it, or attempting to move it can trigger it to release the odor.

In the United States

The brown marmorated stink bug was accidentally introduced into the United States from China or Japan. It is believed to have "hitched a ride" as a stowaway in packing crates. The first documented specimen was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in September 1998.[3][10] Several Muhlenberg College students were reported to have seen these bugs as early as August of that same year.[6][11]

Other reports have the brown marmorated stink bug recovered as early as 2000 in New Jersey from a black light trap run by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Vegetable Integrated Pest Management program in Milford, New Jersey. [12] In 2002, it was again collected in New Jersey from black light traps located in Phillipsburg and Little York and was found on plant material in Stewartsville. It was quickly documented and established in many counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and New York on the eastern coast of the United States. By 2009, this agricultural pest had reached Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon.[13] In 2010 this pest was found in additional states including Indiana,[14] Michigan,[15] Minnesota,[16] and other states.[17] As of November, 2011 it has spread to 34 U.S. states.[4]

Similarity in appearance to native species

Easily confused with Brochymena and Euschistus, the best identification for adults is the white band on the antennae. It is similar in appearance to other native species of shield bug including Acrosternum, Euschistus, and Podisus, except that several of the abdominal segments protrude from beneath the wings and are alternatively banded with black and white (visible along the edge of the bug even when wings are folded) and a white stripe or band on the next to last (4th) antennal segment.[18]

Predators

In China, Trissolcus halyomorphae, a parasitoid species in the family Scelionidae, is a primary predator.[19] This species is not currently present in the U.S., but is undergoing study for possible introduction by 2013.[4] Several other species of the parasitoid wasp have been documented attacking stink bug eggs in a Virginia soybean field.[20] Some species of spiders and praying mantises will attack adult stink bugs.

2010 U.S. population increase

Higher than normal numbers of stink bugs have been reported in the eastern half of the United States.[21] The following are some of the possible reasons for the dramatic population increase:

The higher than normal population has caused some of the following environmental problems:

Gallery

References

  1. ^ "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug". Pennsylvania State University. http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  2. ^ Jacobs, Steve (September 2010). "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug — Entomology — Penn State University:". State College, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences. http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug. Retrieved October 21, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Move Over, Bedbugs: Stink Bugs Have Landed". New York Times. September 26, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27stinkbug.html?_r=1&ref=general&src=me&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-09-28. "Government and university researchers say they need more time to study the bug, which has been in the United States since about 1998. Native to Asia, it was first found in Allentown, Pa., and has no natural enemies here." 
  4. ^ a b c d "Stink Bug Invasion: Is a Wasp the Solution to Save Valued Crops?". PBS NewsHour. May 24, 2011. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/05/fighting-the-stink-bug.html. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  5. ^ Jacobs, Steven B. "Entomological Notes: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug", Pennsylvania State University Department of Agriculture, May 2009, accessed July 1, 2011
  6. ^ a b Gyeltshen J, Bernon G, Hodges A. (July 2010). "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys Ståhl (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)". University of Florida, IFAS. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/bean/brown_marmorated_stink_bug.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
  7. ^ Meacham, Jennifer (October 5, 2010). "Asian stink bugs invade Oregon". KATU News. http://www.katu.com/news/local/104018099.html. Retrieved 27 April 2011. 
  8. ^ Marchiando, Collin. "Monitoring for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug: Frequently Asked Questions". Rutgers University, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. http://njaes.rutgers.edu/stinkbug/faq.asp. Retrieved 27 April 2011. 
  9. ^ Henderson, Will; Khalilian, Ahmad; Han, Young (9–12 July 2006). "Detecting Stink Bugs/Damage in Cotton Utilizing a Portable Electronic Nose". Oregon Convention Center; Portland, Oregon: Clemson University. http://www.clemson.edu/precisionag/Stink%20Bug.pdf. Retrieved March 24, 2010. 
  10. ^ Penn State University extension site on the insect Retrieved 2010-09-23
  11. ^ Invasive.org; David R. Lance, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Forestry Archive, Gary Bernon. "brown marmorated stink bug". Invasive.org is a joint project of The Bugwood Network, USDA Forest Service and USDA APHIS PPQ. http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=9328. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
  12. ^ "Monitoring for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug". Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/stinkbug/. 
  13. ^ LaBonte, James (November 2, 2009). "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug". ODA Plant Division, Insect Pest Prevention and Management; Report. Oregon Department of Agriculture. http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/PLANT/IPPM/bmsb.shtml. Retrieved March 26. 2010. 
  14. ^ "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug: Potentially Serious Pest Found in Indiana". Purdue University. http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/pestcrop/2010/issue26/index.html#stink. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  15. ^ "State Ag. Department Confirms Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Michigan". State of Michigan. 2011-02-01. http://michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1572_3628-250625--,00.html. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  16. ^ "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug". Minnesota Department of Agriculture. http://www.mda.state.mn.us/en/plants/insects/stinkbug.aspx. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  17. ^ "Pest Tracker". Purdue University. http://pest.ceris.purdue.edu/searchmap.php?selectName=IQAQQKA&maptype=alltime. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  18. ^ Bessin, Ric. "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Look-A-Likes in Kentucky" (PDF). http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/pubs/KPN25OctStingBugIDandControl.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
  19. ^ Pfeiffer, Douglas G. (March 30, 2009). "Brown Marmorated Stink Bug". Fact Sheet. Virginia Tech Department of Entomology. http://www.virginiafruit.ento.vt.edu/BMSB.html. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
  20. ^ Roberson, Roy (November 20, 2009). "Natural predators tested for stink bug control". News article. southeast Farm Press. http://southeastfarmpress.com/soybeans/natural-predators-1120/. Retrieved March 30, 2009. 
  21. ^ "On the Trail of the Stink Bug". Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences. http://agsci.psu.edu/dean/blog/2010/on-the-trail-of-the-stink-bug. 
  22. ^ Day, Eric (24 February 2011). "BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG". Virginia Tech. http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1100/2902-1100_pdf.pdf. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  23. ^ Sutphin, Michael (25 July 2011). "Virginia's tree fruit industry has new insecticide to fight stink bugs". Virginia Tech News. Virginia Tech University. http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2011/07/072511-ext-stinkbugs.html. Retrieved 22 September 2011. 

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