Pest Management Destructive stink bug has arrived


Okanagan River among locations where Halyomorpha halys has been found this year. By Judie Steeves


A


devastating agricultural pest, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) has now been found in several locations in B.C., including Penticton. Ministry of Agriculture


entomologist Susanna Acheampong says the bugs are excellent hitchhikers and could be brought into the province in shipping containers, wood, wood packing material, cargo and vehicles. The Okanagan Valley finds have been along the Okanagan River, which is a popular tourist attraction and is close to an industrial area. Four adult bugs were collected May 29 by a taxonomist from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada on chokecherries along the canal, off Green Mountain Road.


Provincial agriculture ministry staff surveyed the site and collected five nymphs from the same bush Aug. 4 and one adult on a different chokecherry bush in the same area Sept. 15.


They were all collected using sweep nets and a beating board. As well, a pyramid trap baited with a BMSB lure was set up nearby and caught two more nymphs in October. The other finds have been in Chilliwack, Rosedale and Kitsilano in the Lower Mainland.


BMSB is considered a very serious pest of agriculture as it feeds on more than 100 different plant species, including tree fruits, grapes, berries, vegetables and ornamental plants. Native to China, Japan and Korea, it was first noticed in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s and was established there by 2001, likely from Beijing. Populations grew exponentially. Females can lay 100 eggs a season and the females can mature within two weeks under favourable conditions.


It overwinters in wooded areas, 10 British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2016-17


Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in adult stage.


consistency in apples; destruction of grape berries and taint in wine; and pears and peaches are also damaged. All damage results in produce that is not marketable. The bugs are


marbled dark brown, about 13 to18 mm in length, and feature a shield-shaped shell. They have two white bands on each


antennae. The nymph stage ranges from 2.4 to 12 mm long, without fully-


under tree bark and in leaf litter as well as invading structures by the hordes.


It has grown to infest more than 40 U.S. states as well as Canada. Ontario has been dealing with it since the first detection in 2012.


This stink bug has few natural enemies here. It damages plants by sucking plant juices. Where its saliva enters, enzyme damage is caused, resulting in brown spots and a mealy


developed wings. At first they are bright orange to red, then black and tick-like,


while the last stages are pear-shaped, brown with white marking on the abdomen and legs and white bands on the last two antennal segments. There is an Asian wasp that attacks the eggs of these bugs, notes Acheampong.


She asks that anyone discovering what they believe may be a BMSB, report it to her, and send her photographs at:


Susanna.Acheampong@gov.bc.ca


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