PHOTOS: Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org; Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
An invasive insect unintentionally brought over from Asia, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, poses a significant risk to specialty crop growers. Since its initial discovery in eastern Pennsylvania in the mid-1990s, BMSB has become a conspicuous insect in the mid-Atlantic U.S. As part of several ongoing research projects, entomologists have been observing which plants this insect typically uses for food and reproduction in its new environment. BMSB is a tree-loving bug but has a very broad host plant range. A collection of articles originally published in China, Japan and Korea and translated with American Farm Bill funds yielded tactics used in Asia against BMSB.
Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) has been detected in 47 states and four Canadian provinces, posing severe agricultural problems in 10 states and nuisance problems in 21 others. It has been spotted on more than 170 different types of plants, including large trees like Eastern redbud, shrubs like English holly and ornamental trees like crabapples and flowering cherry.
