Attraction of the invasive Halyomorpha halys in its native Asian range to traps baited with semiochemical stimuli

Abstract

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is considered a serious invasive species capable of causing significant agricultural and nuisance problems. Researchers in the USA recently identified the two-component H. halys aggregation pheromone from populations in North America and found that when it is combined with the pheromone synergist methyl decatrienoate (MDT), it resulted in reliable, season-long captures of H. halys throughout the USA. However, no study has assessed whether H. halys populations in the native range are attracted to and can also be reliably captured by the combination of these stimuli. In this study, our goal was to evaluate the response of H. halys adults, nymphs, and non-target organisms to traps baited with the aggregation pheromone, MDT alone, or in combination at three locations in the native range. Traps baited with combined stimuli reliably captured the greatest numbers of H. halys adults and nymphs, and traps baited with either lure treatment caught a unique community of non-target organisms. In addition, Plautia stali was cross-attracted to the H. halys aggregation pheromone. Overall, we demonstrate that the pheromone-based tools developed in the USA may be used for worldwide detection and surveillance programs for H. halys and P. stali.