Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål, is an invasive, herbivorous insect species that was accidentally introduced to the United States from Asia. First discovered in Allentown, PA, in 1996, H. halys has now been reported from at least 40 states in the United States. Additional invasions have been detected in Canada, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, and Lichtenstein, suggesting this invasive species could emerge as a cosmopolitan pest species. In its native range, H. halys is classified as an outbreak pest; however, in North America, H. halys has become a major agricultural pest across a wide range of commodities. H. halys is a generalist herbivore, capable of consuming Ͼ100 different species of host plants, often resulting in substantial economic damage; its feeding damage resulted in US$37 million of losses in apple in 2010, but this stink bug species also attacks other fruit, vegetable, field crop, and ornamental plant species. H. halys has disrupted integrated pest management programs for multiple cropping systems. Pesticide applications, including broad-spectrum insecticides, have increased in response to H. halys infestations, potentially negatively influencing populations of beneficial arthropods and increasing secondary pest outbreaks. H. halys is also challenging because it affects homeowners as a nuisance pest; the bug tends to overwinter in homes and outbuildings. Although more research is required to better understand the ecology and biology of H. halys, we present its life history, host plant damage, and the management options available for this invasive pest species.

Since its initial discovery in Allentown, PA, USA, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) has now officially has been detected in 38 states and the District of Columbia in the USA. Isolated populations also exist in Switzerland and Canada. This Asian species quickly became a major nuisance pest in the mid-Atlantic USA region due to its overwintering behavior of entering structures. BMSB has an extremely wide host range in both its native home and invaded countries where it feeds on numerous tree fruits, vegetables, field crops, ornamental plants, and native vegetation. In 2010, populations exploded causing severe crop losses to apples, peaches, sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes and row crops such as field corn and soybeans in several midAtlantic states. Damaging populations were detected in vineyards, small fruit and ornamentals. Researchers are collaborating to develop management solutions that will complement current integrated pest management programs. This article summarizes the current pest status and strategies being developed to manage BMSB in the USA.

BACKGROUND: Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) is an important disease vector and biting nuisance. During the 2009 active season, six ∼1000-parcel sites were studied, three in urban and three in suburban areas of New Jersey, United States, to examine the efficacy of standard integrated urban mosquito control strategies applied area wide. Active source reduction, larviciding, adulticiding and public education (source reduction through education) were implemented in one site in each county, an education-only approach was developed in a second site and a third site was used as an untreated experimental control. Populations were surveyed weekly with BG-Sentinel traps and ovitraps.RESULTS: A substantial reduction in Ae. albopictus populations was achieved in urban sites, but only modest reductions in suburban sites. Education alone achieved significant reductions in urban adult Ae. albopictus. Egg catches echoed adult catches only in suburban sites.CONCLUSIONS: There are significant socioeconomic and climatic differences between urban and suburban sites that impact upon Ae. albopictus populations and the efficacy of the control methods tested. An integrated pest management approach can affect abundances, but labor-intensive, costly source reduction was not enough to maintain Ae. albopictus counts below a nuisance threshold. Nighttime adult population suppression using truck-mounted adulticides can be effective. Area-wide cost-effective strategies are necessary. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to monitor terrestrial species has been relatively limited, with successful implementations still confined to sampling DNA from natural or artificial water bodies and soil. Sampling water for eDNA depends on proximity to or availability of water, whereas eDNA from soil is limited in its spatial scale due to the large quantities necessary for processing and difficulty in doing so. These challenges limit the widespread use of eDNA in several systems, such as surveying forests for invasive insects. We developed two new eDNA aggregation approaches that overcome the challenges of above‐ground terrestrial sampling and eliminate the dependency on creating or utilizing pre‐existing water bodies to conduct eDNA sampling. The first, “spray aggregation,” uses spray action to remove eDNA from surface substrates and was developed for shrubs and other understorey vegetation, while the second, “tree rolling,” uses physical transfer via a roller to remove eDNA from the surface of tree trunks and large branches. We tested these approaches by surveying for spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, a recent invasive pest of northeastern USA that is considered a significant ecological and economic threat to forests and agriculture. We found that our terrestrial eDNA surveys matched visual surveys, but also detected L. delicatula presence ahead of visual surveys, indicating increased sensitivity of terrestrial eDNA surveys over currently used methodology. The terrestrial eDNA approaches we describe can be adapted for use in surveying a variety of forest insects and represent a novel strategy for surveying terrestrial biodiversity.

Host plant use by nymphs and adults of the nonnative species Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) was investigated proximal to the location of its introduction, Allentown, PA. The seasonality of H. halys in the United States had not been thoroughly studied before this work. It is reported to have Ϸ300 host plants in its native range that could make control and identiÞcation of small populations difÞcult. Weekly beat samples were conducted beginning at petal fall (mid-April) in Pyrus spp. until the Þrst frost (mid-October) from 2005 to 2007 on a variety of ornamental trees, shrubs, and agricultural crops. Egg masses were Þrst observed on Paulownia tomentosa Thunb. the Þrst week of June. In 2006 and 2007, Fraxinus americana L. was an important mid-and late season host for adults. Nymphal abundance differed seasonally. P. tomentosa supported high densities during the early season, whereas Viburnum opulus variety americanum Aiton was the preferred mid-season host, and Viburnum prunifolium L. and Rosa rugosa Thunb. had the highest densities of nymphs during the late season. Abundance of nymphs was strongly associated with maturing fruit or pods. All plants surveyed supported populations of H. halys, suggesting a large host range. In late August, a large adult population peak was observed (850 Ð1,000 degree days [DD]), shortly after the DD accumulation for development to imaginal eclosion, supporting hypotheses that H. halys is likely univoltine in this region. Relative to native pentatomid species, H. halys was by far the predominant species collected in samples on ornamental and cultivated crops.