Nasty little stinkers heading this way

Small but smelly and potentially capable of causing millions of dollars in crop damage -- not to mention the possibility of their making unpleasant home invasions -- a tough new breed of stink bug might be heading this way, experts say.

The brown marmorated stink bug already has caused massive amounts of damage to crops in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. The insects are known to hitch rides on vehicles crossing the country; and one of these insects was found at a rest stop on I-70, west of Kansas City, Kan., a University of Missouri Extension press release said.

This type of stink bug was apparently accidentally introduced in eastern Pennsylvania and was first collected there in 1998. It now has a confirmed presence in 33 states and is causing severe damage in five states.

Its wide host range, including fruiting vegetables, fruit, soybeans and corn, along with its tendency to congregate in homes during the winter, make it a formidable problem, the extension said. In the areas where it has become a pest, producers are spraying insecticides more frequently and still are sustaining damage. Insecticides that control stink bugs native to this area often are not effective against the BMSB. Homeowners may be invaded by thousands of the smelly insects in the fall as they seek overwintering spots.

Researchers are working to find effective pesticide controls as well as long-term biological controls such as natural parasites. They are also developing monitoring traps and charting BMSB's spread across the United States.

The adults are just under 1/4-inch long. They differ from the area's native brown stink bugs in that they have lighter bands on the antennae and darker bands on the membranous, overlapping part at the rear of the front wings. Anyone who finds these insects, should contact the nearest University of Missouri Extension Center.

More information can be found at http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug.