Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388425
Research Project: Biologically-based Management Systems for Insect Pests and Pollinators in Agricultural Landscapes in the Southeastern Region

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Spatiotemporal distribution of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in southeastern farmscapes

Author
item Grabarczyk, Erin
item MIZELL, RUSS - University Of Florida
item GREENE, JEREMY - Clemson University
item Tillman, Patricia - Glynn
item Cottrell, Ted
item HERZOG, GARY - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/31/2021
Publication Date: 1/23/2022
Citation: 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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieab111

Interpretive Summary: In Georgia and Florida, the brown stink bug and the dusky stink bug are pests of many crops, but are also found in unmanaged habitats. Whether or not these stink bugs attack and eat crops may depend on both the time of year as well as crop type. Research scientists from ARS, the University of Florida, and Clemson University found large numbers of brown stink bugs in cotton, pecan, other crops, and unmanaged areas. The dusky stink bug was mainly found in woodland habitat. For growers in the southeast USA, this means that management practices aimed at controlling stink bugs may need to occur both in crops and orchards as well as in other habitat such as woodlands and fallow areas next to crop fields.

Technical Abstract: Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are ubiquitous, cryptic phytophagous pests that are found in many crops. In agroecosystems, individuals disperse from adjacent non-crop hosts and tend to aggregate or cluster within fields. In this study, we characterized the distribution of Euschistus servus (Say) and Euschistus tristigmus (Say) over two years at three southeastern U.S. farmscapes. Stink bugs were captured in pheromone-baited traps, and Spatial Analysis Distance Indices (SADIE) was used to identify the location of significant aggregations by habitat type and season. Euschistus servus adults were more likely to be captured in pecan orchards, cotton, other crops, or unmanaged habitats than in woodland habitats. Significant aggregations of E. servus were detected in a variety of habitats including pecan, corn, cotton, peanut, and tobacco, as well as fallow fields, hay, pasture, and hedgerow. Fewer adult E. tristigmus were captured than E. servus adults, and adults of this species were typically trapped and aggregated in woodland habitats. The resulting data provide an important understanding regarding the seasonal movement and relative abundance levels of stink bug populations, which are critical to the development of integrated pest management strategies.