Brown Marmorated Stink Bug - 2010 U.S. Population Increase

2010 U.S. Population Increase

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

• Stink bugs typically have four generations per growing season in Asia, and one after transplantation to the U.S., but an unusually warm and early spring and summer have apparently allowed them to produce two additional generations in this growing season in regions like Maryland and Northern Virginia.

• The extra generations means that some states are seeing more bugs in more places than in previous seasons. Adults are living longer, depositing eggs longer and maturing more generations to lay even more eggs.

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

• The insects have started attacking fruit and trees in orchards in southern and eastern Pennsylvania, which had not been seen in previous years.
• Bugs pierce the fruit’s outer surface and suck out juices while injecting saliva. The suction and saliva create a dimpling of the fruit’s surface, and rotting and corking of the flesh underneath.
• The fruit is not salable because of appearance although the dimpled area is not poisonous to humans.
• The bugs attack numerous types of plants—including tomatoes, soy beans, lima beans and sweet corn—but fruit show the damage more quickly and orchard owners monitor for damage more closely. Little is known about what these insects do in the wild.