Exploring the Spread of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in New Jersey Through the Use of Crowdsourced Reports

Abstract

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an insect native to China, Japan, and Korea that is an invasive pest of agricultural crops in the mid-Atlantic United States (Hoebeke and Carter 2003, Gonzales 2012). It was introduced around 1996 into Allentown, Pennsylvania, and since then has caused significant crop losses in multiple states and has expanded its range to 42 states (StopBMSB 2014, Leskey and Hamilton 2014). High populations in 2010 resulted in more than $37 million in losses to apples and vegetables in the mid-Atlantic region (USApple 2011, Rice et al. 2014). As a highly polyphagous pest, it is able to feed on a variety of non-agricultural plants in addition to numerous agricultural crops. This has given Halyomorpha halys an advantage by using the diverse landscape of the mid-Atlantic to its benefit. Attics and garages provide a suitable location for several overwintering insects. The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis Pallas, and boxelder bugs, Boisea trivittata Say, are known to overwinter in homes (Crenshaw 2011). Harmonia axyridis was introduced into the United States as a biocontrol agent and has since become a homeowner pest. Large aggregations overwinter in houses starting in the fall, and annoy and …