Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5061 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Rudy Yates

Regional Extension Agent/Agronomic Crops

August 16, 2011

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

A native of Asia, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, is an exotic pest that invades homes and causes economic damage to fruit, vegetable and farm crops.  This insect was first identified in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s.  Now, the BMSB has been identified in at least 26 states, including Alabama.

In Alabama, the BMSBs were found in Jefferson, Lee and St. Clair counties.  Some people refer to this pest as the “Interstate Bug” since it will hitchhike in cars, trucks, and campers.  The BMSBs found in St. Clair County were in a camper.

The BMSB was first reported as a nuisance pest in homes, schools and businesses in the northeastern United States.  However, this pest caused significant losses in apple and peach orchards in 2010.  This pest has a wide range of hosts, including apples, citrus, figs, lima beans, peaches, persimmons, green peppers, soybeans, sweet and field corn, tomatoes and various trees, shrubs and weeds.  Cotton and pecans may be hosts as well.

The adult BMSBs can range from ½ inch to slightly less than an inch long.  They have the same shield shape common to most stink bugs.  Their coloring is marmorated (marble like) shades of brown, yellow, and grey.  The BMSB can be distinguished from other stink bugs by the alternating dark and light bands on the last two segments of the antennae and also on the exposed side edges of the abdomen.  This is their most distinguishing characteristic, but the BMSB can be confused with our native brown stink bug.  Typical of other stink bugs, the BMSB emits a pungent odor when disturbed.

The eggs of BMSBs are barrel shaped and light green in color.  They are laid from May through August (possibly into September) on the underside of a leaf in a cluster of 25.  The egg mass becomes apparent once the nymphs emerge because the nymphs will stay at the egg mass for several days.  The five nymphal stages range in size from 0.1 inch to 0.5 inches.  Nymphs have red eyes and their abdomen is yellowish-red.  The yellowish-red color eventually turns to off-white in the last nymph stage.  Researchers think there will be multiple generations as the BMSBs spread south.

It is only a matter of time before we see them in our region.  When you’re out scouting crops and you come across a stink bug as previously described, collect it and please contact the county Extension office.

If you are like me, a picture says a thousand words.  Penn State has a helpful BMSB fact sheet that can be accessed at http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug .  The University of Arkansas also has a publication, FSA7077 – Brown Marmorated Stink Bug: A Potential Pest of Arkansas Row Crops, that can be accessed at http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-7077.pdf .   There are a number of other websites that describe this pest and discuss means of control.

Wheat Expo for Central and South Alabama

Our Wheat Expo meeting for Central and South Alabama will be September 1st, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Richard Beard Building at the Department of Agriculture & Industries in Montgomery, AL.  We’ll have a number of speakers, including researchers from Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, and USDA.  Lunch will be provided.  Registration is requested by August 26 in order to plan for lunch.  If you plan to attend, please contact the

Baldwin County Extension Office at 937-7176.

Email address: yatesrp@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5061, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.