Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Discovered in Allentown, PA in 1996, this insect has now made its home in over 25 States. It was quite prevalent early this spring, and then the unusually dry, hot weather must have helped propel it straight up the charts to #1 on our 2010 INSECT chart.
Reddish brown-black nymphs hatch from light-green eggs laid on either upper or lower leaf surfaces. After 5 nymphal stages, they become long shield-shaped brown adults with white markings on the hind end. If you want to see the adults just look around your house. They are sneaking in for the winter.
Pesticides don?t really work and wouldn?t last more than a few days to a week. Homeowners should concentrate on caulking and replacing screens to seal up those entranceways (good for saving energy, too) – as they enter through any crack they can find. Or, just get used to these relatively harmless insects – they don’t bite. It is true that when you crush a stink bug, they release a pheremone (that some say smells like stinky feet) that attracts even more stink bugs. It is better to help them find their way back outdoors without squeezing them and getting more pheremone in the air.
This year, ?Cat-Facing? feeding damage from its sucking mouthparts has been noted on fruit trees and vegetable crops, affecting crop quality. Feeding on hundreds of hosts- the actual amount of damage caused by this feeding varies and the long-term effects of feeding on things like tree trunks is not well known.
So if you see a “Stink Bug”, don’t squash it or you’ll unfortunately find out how it got it’s name. Read more about it in our insect database at Wood Acres Tree Specialists.
