Since the establishment of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in North America and Europe, there has been a large, multi-group effort to characterize the composition and impact of the indigenous community of arthropod natural enemies attacking this invasive pest. In this review, we combine 98 indigenous natural enemy datasets spanning a variety of sampling methods, habitats, and geographic areas. To date, the vast majority of H. halys biological control research has focused on the egg stage, using sentinel egg masses to characterize indigenous parasitoid and predator communities and their contribution to H. halys egg mortality. Although egg parasitism and predation levels by indigenous natural enemies are low (typically <10% each) in most surveys, total egg mortality attributable to natural enemies can be higher (typically between 5 and 25%; up to 83%)—even though these values were likely underestimated in most cases because some mortality due to biological control was not recognized. In North America, where the most data are available, it appears that the relative prevalence of different indigenous parasitoid species varies among habitat types, particularly between crop and non-crop habitats. Predator species responsible for egg mortality are much less commonly identified, but appear to include a wide variety of generalist chewing and sucking predators. To date, studies of natural enemies attacking H. halys nymphs and adults are relatively rare. Based on our review, we identify a number of key research gaps and suggest several directions for future research

Opuntia acanthocarpa (Cactaceae) possesses extrafloral nectaries embedded in the areoles of new reproductive and vegetative growth. The nectar secreted by these glands attracts ants and is a nutritional food source. Members of one attracted ant species, Crematogaster opuntiae (Myrmicinae), are aggressive and efficient defenders of the plants against cactus‐feeding insects. The results of our study are consistent with the ant‐guard hypothesis for the role of extrafloral nectaries in O. acanthocarpa. Additionally, individuals of O. acanthocarpa are well protected in comparison with those of O. phaeacantha. The latter generally possess ephemeral extrafloral nectaries and consistently maintain fewer ants.

Post-release evaluation of biological control of Bemisia tabaci Post-release evaluation of biological control of Bemisia tabaci Post-release evaluation of biological control of Bemisia tabaci biotype ''B'' in the USA and the development of predictive tools to guide introductions for other countries

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Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a highly attractive plant host to Lygus spp. and is used as a trap crop in California organic strawberries to influence the dispersion and dispersal of these pests, particularly Lygus hesperus Knight. The abundance and distribution of Lygus spp. nymphs between two trap crops separated by 50 strawberry rows was analyzed in 2008 and 2010. Nymphs demonstrated a bimodal distribution in strawberries between trap crops, where nymphs were most abundant and aggregated in alfalfa, when compared with interior strawberry rows, where nymphs were less abundant. The majority of nymphs were concentrated in trap crops and nymphal densities in interior strawberry rows were well below economic thresholds. The movement of Lygus spp. from a marked alfalfa trap crop into adjacent strawberry rows or trap crops was also studied in 2008 and 2009 using a chicken egg albumin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay mark-capture technique. The majority of marked-captured L. hesperus adults and Lygus spp. nymphs remained in alfalfa trap crops, rather than dispersing out into strawberry rows at 24 h, 48 h, and 2 wk, postprotein application. The attenuation of Lygus spp. movement in alfalfa associated with organic strawberries is a key component of successful trap cropping. A small percentage of marked adults and nymphs were captured in neighboring alfalfa trap crops, located 62 m from the point of protein application, highlighting the dispersal capacity of this key pest.