#halyomorpha

The infamous brown marmorated stink bug, native to China, Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia. But now found in the US, Canada, Georgia, Turkey, other parts of Europe and South America. First recorded in the States in 1998, and by 2010 some fruit growers were losing 90% of their crop. Highly invasive and rapidly spread. Here in Perth there's a phone app for reporting anything that might even possibly be a BMSB - it's a serious agricultural menace.

They're also a problem in the cold months, overwintering inside wall cavities in their tens of thousands, but being woken up by the heat from inside and invading the interior.

Despite the bug's chemical defences, the large Joro Spider that I covered earlier is a known predator of the BMSB. Since the spider has ALSO been recently introduced to the US, perhaps there is some hope for a partial biological control. Other possibilities include the Samurai Wasp Trissolcus japonicus which targets the eggs of the bug, and the predatory Wheel Bug Arilus cristatus which preys on nymphs and adults.

Bug of the Day

Well, at least the little ******* are photogenic...

Brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), Newark DE. August 2017. 

An Asiatic species that made its way into the northeastern US just before the turn of the millennium, this stink bug has become an unwelcome addition to gardens, farms, and homes. It is highly polyphagous, meaning that, unlike many species of plant-feeding insects, it is capable of incorporating many species of plants in its diet, with its host plants ranging in the hundreds, including crop plants. The feeding from its mouthparts can damage and misshapen fruiting bodies (fruit, seeds, and nuts), which can ruin orchard and vegetable crops over time. During the fall, these stink bugs also will aggregate in homes or buildings to overwinter, becoming a nuisance for homeowners as well as the hotel industry. 

Bug of the Day