Guess the Pest! | Weekly Crop Update

Bill Cissel, Extension Agent – Integrated Pest Management; bcissel@udel.edu

Congratulations to John Comegys for identifying the insect in this past week’s Guess the Pest and for being selected to be entered into the end of season raffle for $100 not once but five times. Everyone else who guessed correctly will also have their name entered into the raffle. John will also receive a FREE copy of A Farmer’s Guide to Corn Diseases. Click on the Guess the Pest logo below to participate in this week’s Guess the Pest! For Guess the Pest # 11, we will also be giving away A Farmer’s Guide To Corn Diseases ($29.95 value) to one lucky participant.

http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/book/cornfarmersguide/

Guess the Pest Week #10
Answer is … brown marmorated stink bug

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is an invasive species that was accidentally introduced in the US in the mid-1990s. Since its accidental introduction, it has rapidly spread and been detected in 43 states. Currently, it is fully established throughout the Mid-Atlantic States and considered a pest of many vegetables, field crops, and tree fruit. BMSB has five nymphal instars ranging in size from 2.4mm to 12mm in length. First instar nymphs are black with orange markings on their back. Later instars are black with white bands on their legs and antennae. Adult BMSB are often confused with our native brown stink bug and can be distinguished by the white banding on their antennae. BMSB also have tan-grey colored stomachs compared to the native brown stink bug which has a yellow-green colored stomach.

The picture of the BMSB in wheat is actually a little misleading because most (99.9%) of the stink bugs I have seen in wheat are our native brown stink bug, not the invasive BMSB. Stink bugs in wheat have not been a major concern in Delaware because it takes an unusually high number to cause yield losses. It is important to know if you have large populations of brown stink bugs building in wheat because they can move to neighboring corn fields as the wheat matures and is harvested. Please read this week’s Weekly Crop Update article discussing brown stink bug movement from wheat to corn for more information.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Adult.