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Stink Bugs
Latin Name: Bagrada hilaris
Common Name: The Bagrada bug
Other Names: Painted bug, harlequin bug (not the true Harlequin Bug)
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to Africa and Asia but introduced to many other regions including the U.S. Southwest in Arizona and California.
Biology:
This introduced pest was first discovered in Arizona in 2008 and subsequently in California later that same year. It is a serious pest of crops such as crucifers (turnip, mustard) and kohl (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) where its feeding causes yellowing, wilting, and stunted growth. It also has been found feeding on papaya, sorghum, potato, cotton, and some legume crops. As with all stink bugs it feeds with a long proboscis that it inserts in the plant, sucking out the plant’s juices. Females lay up to 100 eggs in clusters on the plant or in the soil. The eggs hatch within a week and the nymphs develop to the adult stage over the next few
Latin Name: Halyomorpha halys
Common Name: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Latin Family Name: Pentatomidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to the Oriental region of China, Japan, and Korea, but introduced to the eastern U.S. in the 1990’s, where it rapidly spread through the upper northeast states.
Biology:
In its native countries the BMSB is a pest of fruit trees such as apple, peach, persimmon, and fig, but it is new enough to North America that its impact is still unknown. It is, however, fast becoming a tenacious pest within structures, where the adults over-winter in potentially large numbers. They do not breed indoors and do not cause damage, but their presence and the strong odor they emit are unpleasant. Adults emerge in mid spring to lay eggs on host plants, with egg laying continuing into mid summer. Nymphs undergo 5 instars in the summer, with 2 or more generations possible each year.
Latin Name: Euschistus conspersus
Common Name: Consperse stinkbug
Latin Family Name: Pentatomidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to North America.
Biology:
Adult insects over-winter under plant debris or thick shrubbery, and on weed growth such as mustards, Russian Thistle, or mallow. They resume activity in early spring, laying clusters of eggs on foliage. The eggs resemble tiny barrels with lids. Development from egg to adult may be around 2 months, with several generations possible each year. Nymphs and adults feed on many kinds of fruits and vegetables, and are a serious pest of tomatoes in California, as well as alfalfa, sugar beets, and cereal grains. When they feed on developing fruits or vegetables they may introduce a yeast that causes decay and loss of the fruit. Feeding with their proboscis also causes dimples, discoloration, or a local hardening of the tissues at the immediate
Latin Name: Chinavia hilaris
Common Name: The Green stinkbug
Other Names: Green soldier bug
Pest Details
Origin:
Likely a native insect in North America.
Biology:
This is a very common stinkbug throughout North America, feeding on a wide variety of ornamental and agricultural plants, including fruit trees, many row crops, and many ornamentals and native plants. Females deposit their eggs on the underside of leaves in double rows of a dozen or more eggs. There is a single generation each year in the cooler northern states and two generations in southern regions. When disturbed they release foul smelling fluids from glands on the underside of their thorax. Adults overwinter and mate in spring. Development from egg to adult takes just over one month.
Identification:
The early nymphs look very different from the adults, having black and red heads and prothorax and white and black banded abdomens. The adults are true to their
Latin Name: Murgantia histrionica
Common Name: Harlequin Stink Bug
Latin Family Name: Pentatomidae
Other Names: Harlequin beetle
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to Central America and Mexico, but now present throughout the entire United States.
Biology:
This insect is particularly fond of plants in the family Cruciferaceae, which includes mustards, pepper grass, bittercress, and others, as well as many important crops such as corn, beans, tomatoes, squash. As they feed they cause discoloration and wilting of the plant tissues, and young plants may be killed. Typical of many true bugs the adult stage over-winters, usually concealed in plant debris, and often active in the winter in warmer Gulf Coast areas. They resume activity in the spring when the female lays up to 155 eggs, in double rows of about a dozen eggs which hatch in about 3 weeks, and sooner in warmer months for later generations. Development through
Latin Name: Chlorochroa sayi
Common Name: Say's Stink Bug
Latin Family Name: Pentatomidae
Other Names: Green stink bug
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to western North America.
Biology:
Adult insects over-winter under plant debris or thick shrubbery, and on weed growth such as mustards, Russian Thistle, or mallow. They resume activity in early spring, laying clusters of eggs on foliage. The eggs resemble tiny barrels with lids. Development from egg to adult may be around 2 months, with several generations possible each year. Nymphs and adults feed on many kinds of fruits and vegetables, and are a serious pest of tomatoes in California, as well as alfalfa, sugar beets, and cereal grains. When they feed on developing fruits or vegetables they may introduce a yeast that causes decay and loss of the fruit. Feeding with their proboscis also causes dimples, discoloration, or a local hardening of the tissues at the immediate site of