Southern green stink bug

Scientific name

Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Other common names

SGSB

Similar species

green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare

Distribution

United States: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Worldwide: tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia, and Europe.

Native to Africa (Ethiopia).

Diagnostic characteristics

Adults

• Solid green.
• Shield-shaped.
• Eyes dark red or black.
• 14 - 19 mm (0.5 - 0.75 in.) in length.
• Odorous glands on abdomenabdomen:
  one of the three body segments in insects; the most posterior segment containing the heart, reproductive organs, and digestive organs
  .

Immatures

• 5 nymphal instars.
• Resemble adult with shield shape.
• First instars aggregate near egg mass and do not feed.
• Second instars feed but remain aggregated.
• Fourth and fifth instars are solitarysolitary:
  insects that feed or move about individually, not in groups
  feeders.
• Black headhead:
  one of the three main body segments in insects; the anterior-most segment containing the many sensory structures including the eyes, antennae, and mouthparts
  , thoraxthorax:
  one of the three main body segments in an insect, located between the head and abdomen, where the wings and legs of the insect attach
  , legs, and antennae appear in second instarinstar:
  immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
  .
• Abdomen abdomen:
  one of the three body segments in insects; the most posterior segment containing the heart, reproductive organs, and digestive organs
  and spaces between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th antennal segments are red.
• Wing pads wing pads:
  undeveloped or incomplete wing structures that are found on the immature individuals of insects that do not undergo complete metamorphosis, e.g., stink bugs, leaf-footed bugs, grasshoppers
  apparent in the fifth instarinstar:
  immature stages (larva or nymph) of insects in between molts
  .

Eggs

• 1.0 mm (0.04 in.) in length, 0.75 mm (0.03 in.) in width.
• Pale yellow to cream-colored when deposited.
• Pink to bright orange just prior to hatching.
• Cylindrical.
• Deposited in tightly-packed clusters.
• Glued to substrate.

Hosts

Citrus hosts

All Citrus species and their hybrids, but particularly destructive to common mandarins (including tangerine), Citrus reticulata.

Non-citrus hosts

Over 52 documented host plants including ornamentals, weeds, and cultivated crops. A partial list includes:

• all cruciferous vegetables, Brassica oleracea
• bean, Phaseolus vulgaris
• coffee, Coffea spp.
• corn, Zea mays
• cotton, Gossypium spp.
• Crotalaria spp.
• peach, Prunus spp.
• peanut, Arachis hypogaea
• pecan, Carya illinoinensis
• Sorghum spp.
• soybean, Glycine max
• tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum
• tomato, Solanum lycopersicum
• wheat, Triticum spp.

Host damage

Fruits

Feeds preferentially on young, developing fruits.

Twigs

Will feed on tender, growing shoots.

Biology

Southern green stink bugs overwinter as adults. In the spring, adults mate and then resume feeding. Eggs are deposited in clusters on the underside of leaves or on fruiting structures. Individuals progress through five nymphal instars. The time from egg to adult is 35 - 57 days, depending on temperature. Adults will commonly switch host plants.

Comments

Stink bugs prefer wild hosts. Populations build up on wild host plants, and adults may move to crops late in the season as preferred foods mature.

References

Squitier, J.M. 2010. Featured creature fact sheets: southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (Linnaeus) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). EENY-016. University of Florida. (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in142).

Todd, J.W. 1989. Ecology and behavior of Nezara viridula . Ann. Rev. Entomol. 34: 273-92. (http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.en.34.010189.001421)

Authors

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