LOOK OUT RI!: Marmorated Stink Bugs Invading Connecticut

An invasive type of stink bug has hitchhiked its way into Connecticut and is threatening fruits, vegetables and flowers.

Called the brown marmorated stink bug, the spotted insect came to the United States from Asia as a stowaway on cargo containers. Entomologists believe they arrived in Allentown, Pa., in 1996 and spread to New Jersey in 1998. Since then, the insect has spread to 33 states and the District of Columbia.

 But the brown marmorated stink bug feeds on more than 70 plants and has no known biological enemy, said Chris T. Maier, entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.

When this pest eats plants and flowers, it leaves brown spots behind, and with the nymphs and adults eating the same plant, they can cause significant damage. This stink bug is known to eat apples, peaches, nectarines, pears, cherries, apricots, figs, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, sweet corn and field corn, soybeans, lima beans, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, roses, honeysuckle, lilacs, maples and dogwoods. These pests also feed on perennials, sunflowers, hazelnuts and pecans.

 

There are no insecticides known to effectively kill this nuisance, although scientists are working on it.

With nothing to stop the brown marmorated stink bugs from spreading, populations can reach levels high enough to cause serious damage to crops within a few years after arriving in an area, Maier said.

In the mid-Atlantic states such as Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the stink bug populations soared last year, damaging so many crops that they hurt apple and peach growers financially.

But if you spot a brown marmorated stink bug, she said, immediately contact the experiment station (see instructions below.) The brown marmorated stink bug is the only brownish stink bug, over one-half-inch long, with distinctive white bands on each antenna, Maier said.

Both the adults and nymphs can be found on the underside of leaves from June to August, said Joan Allen, assistant cooperative extension educator in residence at the University of Connecticut.

To kill any such bugs found outside, shake them into a bucket of soapy water or into a plastic zippered bag, and put it in the freezer. Like all stink bugs, they emit a pungent odor when threatened, so try to avoid direct contact. 

>>If you see an adult bug, collect a specimen, note the date and contact Chris Maier at Chris.Maier@ct.gov/. Please mark the town where it was found, and send it to Maier at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, P.O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT 06504.