Controlling Stink Bugs

Problem

How can the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) be controlled without using synthetic pesticides?

• BMSB threatens fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals, causing millions of dollars' worth of damage.
• Synthetic pesticides hurt beneficial insects and cause outbreaks of secondary pests.

Findings

Researchers found that the samurai wasp, a native parasitic insect, keeps BMSB in check by developing inside the stink bug's eggs. The BMSB can also be attracted to “ghost traps" baited with an aggregation pheromone.

Impact

The complementary, two-pronged approach allows some control of BMSB without pesticide applications to crops, thus also indirectly supporting the establishment of samurai wasps in and around orchards.

Related Research Areas: Advanced Agricultural and Food Systems, Environmental Resilience

Research Credit

Team

• Grzegorz Krawczyk, Hillary Peterson, Jayson Harper, Shelby Fleischer, and Claire Hirt

Participating Departments

• Entomology
• Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education

Competitive Funding

• USDA Agricultural Research Service; USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative; State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania

Federal and State Appropriations

• Project PEN04619 and USDA NIFA Accession #1011647

Emerging Discoveries

Wasp warriors: Entomologists on samurai mission to slay stink bugs

May 16, 2018

Hillary Peterson is every brown marmorated stink bug's worst nightmare. The Penn State doctoral degree student does not intend to rest professionally until she and other entomologists devise a way to reduce burgeoning populations of the invasive insect, originally from Asia, which are damaging crops and aggravating people. The goal of their research is to develop biological controls to interfere with the pest's reproduction.