Location: Southeast Watershed Research
2022 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Spatial and temporal distribution of an invasive stink bug in orchards. ARS scientists at Tifton, Georgia suggest that invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a serious pest in orchard crops in the United States. Thus, the spatial and temporal distribution of BMSB adults and nymphs was explored in a southeastern research farm with multiple orchard and woodland habitats. BMSB capture traps were placed in orchard and non-crop plants to assess seasonal development of the pest. In addition, stink bugs were monitored weekly across a grid of capture traps within the orchard. ARS scientists at Tifton, Georgia found that BMSB is an established pest within this orchard system, and that non-crop host plants play an important role in maintaining populations of BMSB in surrounding habitat. Using spatial analyses, high-density aggregations of this pest were identified and mapped. Overall, the distribution of BMSB adults and nymphs were similar; both adults and nymphs aggregated primarily in peach and adjacent woodlands followed by pecan. For growers, seasonal monitoring of BMSB adults and nymphs in fruit and nut trees and non-crop host plants in surrounding habitat can be used to identify, in time and space, areas of high-density aggregations to develop targeted pest management strategies.
2. Spatial and temporal distribution of native stink bugs in row crops. ARS scientists at Tifton, Georgia believe native stink bugs are polyphagous pests that cause significant economic losses to a variety of row crops. Although many species have been documented to aggregate within agricultural fields, much less is known regarding the timing and distribution of adults and nymphs within and between surrounding non-crop habitat. Thus, the spatial and temporal distributions of the brown stink bug, dusky stink bug, and green stink bug, were explored and distribution patterns were examined by habitat. Stink bugs were monitored weekly for three years within an 18 km2 grid of stink bug traps. ARS scientists at Tifton, Georgia, found that the timing of stink bug aggregations reflected the phenology of major crops, including corn, cotton, and peanut. Overall, brown stink bugs were captured in crops, whereas dusky stink bugs were mainly captured in forests. The green stink bug was most often captured in forest followed by crop habitat. For growers, this means that pest management strategies for stink bugs may require an area-based management approach that accounts for movement in agricultural fields and surrounding habitat.
Review Publications
Tillman, P.G., Cottrell, T.E., Grabarcyzk, E.E. 2022. Black cherry as a host plant for stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in agroecosystems in Georgia, USA. Florida Entomologist. 105(1):79-86. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.105.0112.
Grabarczyk, E.E., Mizell, R.F., Greene, J.K., Tillman, P.G., Cottrell, T.E., Herzog, G.A. 2022. Spatiotemporal distribution of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in southeastern farmscapes. Journal of Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieab111.
Khadka, A., Hodges, A.C., Leppla, N.C., Tillman, P.G. 2021. Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) nymph survival and adult feeding preferences for crop plants in Florida. Florida Entomologist. 104:136-139. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.104.0210.
Tillman, P.G., Cottrell, T.E., Balusu, R., Fadamiro, H., Buntin, D., Sial, A., Vinson, E., Towes, M., Patel, D., Grabarczyk, E.E. 2022. Effect of duration of deployment on parasitism and predation of Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Hemiptera:Pentatomidae) sentinel egg masses in various host plants. Florida Entomologist. 150(1):44-52. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.105.0107.
Grabarczyk, E.E., Cottrell, T.E., Tillman, P.G. 2021. Characterizing the spatiotemporal distribution of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) across an agricultural landscape. Insects. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12100854.
Grabarczyk, E.E., Cottrell, T.E., Tillman, P.G. 2022. Spatiotemporal distribution of Halyomorpha halys (Stål)(Hemiptera:Pentatomidae) across a fruit and tree nut agricultural ecosystem. Environmental Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvac030.