The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

A New Vegetable Crop Pest:
The Brown Marmorated
Stink Bug
Celeste Welty
Ohio State University
March 2012
Brown marmorated stink bug
•  Attacks fruits & seed pods
•  Also nuisance pest:
invades homes in autumn
Brown marmorated
stink bug
•  Pest in Japan, China, Korea
•  In PA since 2001
•  Terrible in PA, MD, WV in 2010
•  In 33 States as of Nov. 2011
Status of brown marmorated
stink bug in Ohio
•  1st report (indoors): Nov. 2007
•  Autumn 2010: much home invasion
•  Hot spot in Columbus, August 2011
– Heavy in soybean
– Common in apple
– Few in corn, cabbage, pumpkin
•  Please alert us if crop damage seen
Brown marmorated stink bug
•  Host plants
•  Identification
•  Life cycle
•  Injury
•  Management
•  Monitoring
Hosts of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
•  Fruit crop hosts:
–  Peach, apple, pear, cherry, Asian pear
–  Raspberries, blackberries, grapes
•  Vegetable crops
–  Sweet corn
–  Peppers
–  Tomatoes
•  Agronomic crops
–  Soybean
–  Corn
Hosts of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
•  Ornamental trees
• 
Ornamental shrubs
–  Tree of Heaven
–  Paulownia
(empress tree)
–  Crabapple
–  Catalpa
–  Persimmon
–  Walnut
–  Maples
–  Basswood
–  Sweet gum
–  Redbud
–  American holly
–  Serviceberry
(shadbush)
–  Butterfly-bush
–  Pyracantha
–  Viburnum
–  Rose
–  Honeysuckle
Early-season hosts
•  Tree of Heaven
(Ailanthus altissima)
is most dominant
host
•  Serviceberry &
crabapple also
important
I.d. of brown marmorated stink bug
•  Halyomorpha halys
•  White bands on:
– Antennae
– Sides of abdomen
– Legs (faint)
top view
bottom view
“Marmorated”???
•  Veined or streaked, like marble
•  Having a marbled or streaked
appearance
Note differences in size & shape
in pinned specimens side-by-side
Note differences in size & shape
in pinned specimens side-by-side
Compared to other common stink bugs
•  One-Spotted Stink Bug
– Brown
– Most common stink bug on
tomato in Ohio
•  Green Stink Bug
– Occasional pest on fruit & veg
– Most common stink bug on
soybean
•  Spined Soldier Bug
– Predator in alfalfa & other crops
Compared to other true bugs
•  Squash bug
– Very hard bodied
– Scent like banana extract!
•  Leaf-footed bugs
– Distinctive leg shape
– Also invade homes for winter
•  Stink bugs
– Body somewhat soft
– Scent like cilantro!
Life Cycle of B. M. stink bug
•  5 instars within nymph stage
•  1 or 2 generations per year
Eggs &
1st instar
nymphs
2nd
instar 3rd
4th
5th
adult
male
adult
female
How do they spread?
•  Fly
•  Hitchhike
– Vehicles
– Cargo, packages
Feeding injury by B.M. stink bug
•  Long proboscis (beak)
•  Suck plant sap
Feeding by B. M. stink bug
nymph
adult
•  Both adults & nymphs
feed on plants
– Fruit
– Leaves
Brown marmorated stink bug:
injury on vegetables
Courtesy Jerry Ghidiu
Brown marmorated stink bug:
injury on vegetables
pepper
beans
tomato
Brown marmorated stink bug:
injury on vegetables
corn
Brown marmorated stink bug:
injury on grapes & berries
Their favorite foods
•  Apples
•  Peaches
•  Raspberries
•  Sweet corn
•  Green beans
•  Peppers
•  Eggplant
•  Okra
•  Swiss chard
•  Tomato
Their favorite places
•  Edges of fields
•  Edge near woodlot
Management
of brown marmorated stink bug
•  Biological control
•  Cultural control
•  Physical control
•  Chemical control
Biocontrol
Natural enemies of BMSB in USA:
•  Eggs attacked by local parasitoid, a tiny
wasp: Trissolcus (Scelionidae)
•  Adults attacked by Tachinid flies
•  Parasitism in ornamental gardens: <5%
•  Predators: ants, earwigs, spiders, birds
Parasitoids
•  Egg parasitoid, Trissolcus halyomorphae
– Found in Asia
– Specific to BMSB
– Parasitizes up to 70% of eggs in China
•  4 Trissolcus species collected in Asia
are in quarantine & screening by USDA,
Newark DE
Generalist predators
•  Studies in Maryland 2011
–  Increasing egg predation as
stink bug increasing
–  most common: big-eyed bug
–  Also:
• Jumping spiders
• Soft-winged flower beetles
• Soldier beetles
• Ants
Cultural control
•  Trap cropping
– Attract bugs away from main crop
– Sunflower
• Best prospect
• Bugs feed on back of flower
– Others: green amaranth,
buckwheat, sorghum, pea, okra
– Under development
– Field testing needed
Physical control
•  Lightweight row covers
•  The preferred tactic in small plantings
Efficacy ratings for BMSB
control in veg crops (Maryland)
Best in field trials:
Fair/Good:
•  Venom/Scorpion
•  Baythroid
•  Leverage (Provado + Baythroid)
• 
Vydate
Also good:
•  Lannate
•  Brigade
•  Warrior
•  Belay
•  Orthene
•  Assail
•  Hero (Mustang + Brigade)
•  Athena (Brigade+ Agri-Mek)
•  Endigo (Warrior + Actara)
Insecticides for stink bug
Product
Sweet corn
Peppers
PHI
Limit
PHI
Limit
Venom
-
-
1 day
1-2 ap.
Leverage
-
-
0 days
3-4 ap.
1 day
2-6 ap.
7 days
2-6 ap.
Belay
-
-
21 days 3-4 ap.
Orthene
-
-
7 days
2 ap.
7 days
1-2 ap.
Brigade
Hero
3 days 1-2 ap.
New 2(ee) labels for B.M. Stink Bug,
for various crops, various PHIs
• Belay
• Venom
• Danitol
• Bifenture (Brigade)
• Acephate (Orthene)
• Thionex
• Lannate
• Vydate
• Lorsban Advanced
• Cobalt
Coming soon (?): new insecticides
for brown marmorated stink bug
•  Azera
– Pre-mix: azadirachtin + pyrethrins
– Approved EPA 9/28/2011
– Organic compliant
– Made by MGK
– Also the name of a car (Hyundai!)
Coming soon (?): new insecticides
for brown marmorated stink bug
•  etofenprox (Trebon)
– A pyrethroid ether (not ester, like others)
– “Reduced risk” by EPA
– Not registered for food crops
– Good efficacy in outdoor field trials
– Pending: indoor control of stink bugs
• Zenprox for bed bugs, fleas
– Also in Zenivex, for mosquitoes
Organic options
•  Best so far: kaolin (Surround) mix
– plus Azera
– or plus pyrethrins
– or plus neem oil
•  Azera alone ok for nymph control
Monitoring:
How to detect stink bugs?
•  Beating: earliest detection
•  Blacklight trap: next earliest
•  Pheromone trap: later detection
Monitoring with pheromone
•  Trap style
– Pyramid shape
– 3 variations
– Collection chamber at top
– Visual stimuli: yellow or black
– Bigger or taller is better
17 County
Monitoring
Network
MI
PA
IN
WV
KY
Stink bug traps, 2011
Super Site Trap Setup
Stink bug traps, 2011
BMSB Season Total (May – Oct),
sum of all traps at all sites
8
6
4
2
0
Yel Pyramid
Blk Pyramid
Ground Dead
Inn
4' Dead Inn
x
x
Compare with Maryland hot-spot:
peak 400 per night in late July
Attractant lure for BMSB
•  Pheromone in 2011:
–  Aggregation pheromone
–  Attracts nymphs & adults
–  From a related Asian bug species
–  Most effective: mid-July to October
–  $3/lure (for 1 month)
–  Performed poorly in 2011
•  New lure developed by USDA in 2011:
–  Much more effective
–  Available for researchers in 2012
–  Not known if will attract earlier
Monitoring:
How to detect stink bugs?
•  More research needed on trapping
– New lure to be tested 2012
•  Scouting (plant inspection) is key:
– vigilant scouting for first injury
– Start early
– Repeat frequently
Website for citizen reporting
of brown marmorated stink bug in Ohio
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/bmsb
The end