Brown marmorated stink bug

Scientific name

Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Other common names

BMSB

Similar species

brown stink bug, Euschitus servus

green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare

Florida predatory stink bug, Euthyrhynchus floridanus

leaf-footed bugs, Leptoglossus spp.

boxelder bugs, Boisea spp.

Distribution

United States: Pennsylvania (point of introduction).

Worldwide: Canada, China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Native to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Diagnostic characteristics

Adults

• Shield-shaped body, 12 - 17 mm (0.5 - 0.7 in.) in length.
• Mottled brown on upper and lower body surface.
• Emits pungent odor if disturbed.
• Lighter-colored bands of brown on last two segments of antennae that appear as single, white band.
• Darker brown on the membranousmembranous:
  with the same character as a membrane, typically used to refer to structures like wings that are clear and translucent like a membrane
  , overlapping part of the wings.
• Abdominal segments protrude beyond wings and alternate brown and light brown or white bands.

Immatures

• Five nymphal instars.
• Lack fully-developed wings.
• First instars are orange or red and cluster near egg mass.
• Second instars are often black.
• Later instars have the adult, mottled brown coloration.

Eggs

• Barrel-shaped.
• 1 mm (0.04 in.) in diameter.
• White to pale green.
• Deposited side-by-side to the underside of leaves in clusters of 20 - 30 eggs.

Hosts

Citrus hosts

All Citrus species and their hybrids.

Non-citrus hosts

Broad host rangehost range:
the range of species that a particular organism can feed on to achieve successful growth and reproduction
, over 300 hosts are reported that include weeds as well as vegetable, field, and flower crops. A partial list includes:

• bean, Phaseolus vulgaris
• blackberry, Rubusspp.
• black night-shade, Solanum nigrum
• Celosia argentea
• cherry, Prunus avium
• corn, Zea mays
• fig, Ficus
• grape, Vitus spp.
• Hibiscus spp.
• Japanese apricot, Prunus mume
• Japanese persimmon, Diospyros kak
• Malabar/Ceylon spinach, Basella rubra
• mulberry, Morus spp.
• peach, Prunus persica
• pear, Pyrus pyrifolia
• princess tree, Paulownia tomentosa
• soybean, Glycine max

Host damage

Fruits

• Brown discoloration and necroticnecrotic:
  the damage caused by cell death (necrosis) in plants or other organisms, often a result of insect feeding on plants, and displayed as brown or black coloration of tissues
  spots.
• Dimpling near feeding site.
• Feeding on developing fruit may result in fruit drop.

Leaves

• Brown discoloration and necroticnecrotic:
  the damage caused by cell death (necrosis) in plants or other organisms, often a result of insect feeding on plants, and displayed as brown or black coloration of tissues
  spots.

Biology

Individuals overwinter as adults and mating occurs in the spring. Females deposit eggs in clusters on the underside of leaves. Females deposit multiple egg masses and can lay as many as 400 eggs in their lifetime. First instarinstar:
immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
nymphs remain clustered around the egg mass. Nymphs progress through five instars before reaching maturity. Although the nymphs are solitarysolitary:
insects that feed or move about individually, not in groups
feeders, they can sometimes be found clustered on the plant. In cooler climates, the brown marmorated stink bug will have only one generationgeneration:
the time it takes for an insect to develop from egg to adult
annually. However, in warmer climates, four to six generations are possible.

References

Gyeltshen, J., G. Bernon, A. Hodges, S. Stocks, and J. Brambila. 2011. Featured creatures fact sheet: Halyomorpha halys Stål (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Publication EENY-346. University of Florida. (http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/bean/brown_marmorated_stink_bug.htm)

Holtz, T. and K. Kamminga. 2010. Qualitative analysis of the pest risk potential of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys(Stål), in the United States. (http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/BMSB_Pest_Risk_Potential_-_USDA_APHIS_Nov_2011_344862_7.pdf)

(NAPIS) National Agricultural Pest Information System. Purdue University. 2012. Survey Status of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug - Halyomorpha halys. (http://pest.ceris.purdue.edu/pest.php?code=IQAQQKA).

Authors

Weeks, J.A., A.C. Hodges, and N.C. Leppla