Season-Long Monitoring of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Throughout the United States Using Commercially Available Traps and Lures

Abstract

Reliable monitoring of the invasive Halyomorpha halys abundance, phenology and geographic distribution is critical for its management. Halyomorpha halys adult and nymphal captures on clear sticky traps and in black pyramid traps were compared in 18 states across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Pacific Northwest and Western regions of the United States. Traps were baited with commercial lures containing the H. halys pheromone and synergist, and deployed at field sites bordering agricultural or urban locations with H. halys host plants. Nymphal and adult captures in pyramid traps were greater than those on sticky traps, but captures were positively correlated between the two trap types within each region and during the early-, mid- and late season across all sites. Sites were further classified as having a low, moderate or high relative H. halys density and again showed positive correlations between captures for the two trap types for nymphs and adults. Among regions, the greatest adult captures were recorded in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic on pyramid and sticky traps, respectively, with lowest captures recorded in the West. Nymphal captures, while lower than adult captures, were greatest in the Southeast and lowest in the West. Nymphal and adult captures were, generally, greatest during July–August and September–October, respectively. Trapping data were compared with available phenological models showing comparable population peaks at most locations. Results demonstrated that sticky traps offer a simpler alternative to pyramid traps, but both can be reliable tools to monitor H. halys in different geographical locations with varying population densities throughout the season.

Trapping Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs: “The Nazgȗl” Lure and Kill Nets

“…The low efficiency of both trap types likely obscured some differences, although the Rescue trap caught more BMSB if there was a very high surrounding population. Sticky panels operated season-long in the United States of America peaked at up to 10-20 for all stages of nymphs per week in the most abundant locations [50], which is much lower than seen here with The Nazgûl (see graphical abstract also, which peaked at 100 bugs killed per day). Of course, sticky panels are not normally considered for suppression.…”

“…The plume reach of the pheromone has been estimated as 40 m [28], but this was not studied here. A forthcoming study has expanded knowledge of the impact of fruit volatiles on dispersal and host location [50], which clearly play a role [51].…”

Influence of Temperature on Age-Stage, Two-Sex Life Tables for a Minnesota-Acclimated Population of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys)

“…H. halys has been reported as a nuisance pest at this location since this time, and soon after the first detection in Minnesota in 2010 [41]. We have observed H. halys at this location since 2012, where both adults and nymphs have been collected on H. halys pheromone traps [52], which is indicative of a locally reproducing population. For our study, 80-100 adults were collected each year from this location in September-October, and subjected to diapause conditions in the lab; surviving adults were then added to our H. halys colony to maintain genetic diversity (October, 2015(October, , 2016.…”

“…The 30-year historical (1981-2010) average monthly summer temperatures from June to August for the Midwest, including the Twin Cities region (MN, USA) range from 22 to 23 • C, and the corresponding average maximum temperatures range from 26 to 28 • C. The prevailing weather conditions are thus ideal to enhance rates of survival, development, and reproduction of the pest at its current northern range limit; additional, projected warming will exacerbate the favorable conditions. Recent significant increases in trap catch numbers of H. halys in the seven-county metropolitan region of the Twin Cities [52] suggests the role of an "urban heat island" effect that may facilitate the continued invasion and spread of a pest such as H. halys, particularly where urban structures are in ample supply to provide added shelter during winter. Moreover, increases in average diurnal and nocturnal temperatures during summer and winter, respectively [84], are also expected to play a key role in reducing development time, and increase survival rates of H. halys in the Minnesota and Midwest region [42].…”

Brown marmorated stink bug overwintering aggregations are not regulated through vibrational signals during autumn dispersal

“…Considerable work has been done on pheromone use by H. halys (reviewed in [23]). Baited pheromone traps attract males, females and nymphs [24][25][26]. However, while a male-emitted aggregation pheromone [27] and a pheromone synergist [28] are known, pheromone traps are poorly suited for managing H. halys via mass trapping due to the area of aggregation surrounding baited traps [29] because they may be affected by the crop in which they are deployed [30], or because of additional vibrational cues used during courtship [31].…”