New Publication
Determining the host range of an invasive insect in a new environment is a key step in the development of management strategies. As the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål, expands into agricultural regions of North America, efforts to elucidate its dietary habits on a landscape scale rely on intensive sampling of potential host plants. Although this approach yields useful information, results can be biased toward common and easily sampled plant species; important hosts can be missed if sampling them is impractical or limited in scope. Here we lay the groundwork for the application of gut content analysis to the feeding ecology of H. halys by investigating the persistence of host plant DNA in the digestive tracts of insects with known feeding histories.
![screenshot of environmental entomology web site with the article title.](https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/cahnrs/uploads/sites/31/Hepler-etal-2021-1024x441.png)
Hepler, J., R. Cooper, and E. Beers. 2021. Host Plant Signal Persistence in the Gut of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Environmental Entomology, 50(1): 202-207. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvaa152
BMSB Nymph Feeding on a Tomato
This is a 4th instar brown marmorated stink bug nymph feeding on a grape tomato. The robust beak is unfolded and inserted into the tomato, then the delicate, thread-like stylet follow. After the stylets are inserted, the tip of the beak folds back along the surface of the fruit and the stylet are repeatedly plunged into the flesh to feed. The 2nd feeding bout commenced in a matter of seconds after the 1st one finished, and very close to the original insertion point. Both feeding bouts took about 21 minutes.
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug – Egg Hatch Time Lapse
This time-lapse sequence was taken over the course of 6 days from a freshly laid egg mass on a bean leaf. The egg mass was kept in a controlled temperature room at 30-75% RH and 25-27 ºC with a 18L:6D photoperiod.
This project was funded by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Project No. WNP03194