Agricultural Impacts of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is particularly devastating when it comes to the agricultural output of farms in Maryland. According to Dr. Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic region is the epicenter of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug endemic; no farmers have been left unaffected by this blight in some way (Can Wasps Squash the Stink Bug Plague). Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has an incredibly large host range, feeding on over three hundred native species. This makes them all the more agriculturally damaging, as they will consume most any produce a farmer grows (Lipske np). In addition, it is not simply the adults that inflict damage upon fruits and vegetables; the nymphs, or young stinkbugs, begin to devour plant material as soon as they hatch (IPM Garden Center Fact Sheet--March 2011 np). These infamous pests have decimated crops throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, causing enormous devastation to farmers. One farmer quoted, "One of our late [apple] varieties — Pink Lady — we had 50 percent damage on that," he says. "I can handle a few percent, but gets up to 25 percent, 50 percent — that's pretty devastating to me" (Raupp Can Wasps Squash the Stink Bug Plague). Brown Marmorated Stink Bug also affects the taste of produce, meaning that even if the fruit does not appear damaged, it is unpalatable, and therefore less valuable (IPM Garden Center Fact Sheet—March 2011 np). Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has forced farmers to apply unprecedented amounts of pesticides to their crops; some farmers
have found it necessary to apply over twenty coats of pesticides in order to help manage these insects, because applying ordinary amounts of pesticides is ineffective (Raupp Stink Bug Numbers Explode Along East Coast). This unprecedented use of pesticides is undoubtedly
harming the environment; Professor Raupp, from the University of Maryland, states the “stink bug is undoing 40 years of integrated pest management” (Pungent Pests; Stink bugs 36).
have found it necessary to apply over twenty coats of pesticides in order to help manage these insects, because applying ordinary amounts of pesticides is ineffective (Raupp Stink Bug Numbers Explode Along East Coast). This unprecedented use of pesticides is undoubtedly
harming the environment; Professor Raupp, from the University of Maryland, states the “stink bug is undoing 40 years of integrated pest management” (Pungent Pests; Stink bugs 36).
Economic Impacts of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
Because Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is one of the worst invasive insects that the Mid-Atlantic region has experienced, it inevitably comes with extreme economic impacts; "some growers have lost their entire crop to stink bug infestations…This adds up to many millions of dollars of losses in crop values. It's a serious economic loss to some growers" (Doyle np). One crop that was particularly damaged by the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was apples: in 2010 alone this insect caused thirty seven million dollars in damages to apple farmers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (Exploding Bug Population Stinking up Maryland Farms np), and this is merely the damage done to apple harvests. The cost of the collective damage to crops other than apples is much higher. However, economic consequences are not limited strictly to agricultural losses: in 2010, the USDA spent nearly $1.09 million on research for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Doyle np). Though this research was focused on finding a solution to the stink bug problem, and eventually lessening its economic impacts, it was and is still a negative impact on the economy. Such governmental expenditures also negatively impact American consumers, as at least a portion of the money spent on BMSB research inescapably came from tax revenue.
Possible Ways to Control the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Population
Due to the fact that Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is so devastating, researchers are constantly searching for methods by which people can hope to control this species. Scientists are currently studying four different wasp species from the Trissolcus genus as a possible means of biocontrol for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Marder np). These wasps parasitize stinkbug eggs, inserting their own eggs into the stinkbug eggs so that when the eggs hatch, wasps emerge instead of stinkbugs (Leskey). Researchers have been and will continue to examine these wasps in research facilities throughout the country. If studies indicate that these wasps will not parasitize the eggs of the hundreds of different native stinkbug species, it is possible that they will be released sometime in 2013 (Lipske np). However, unlike biocontrol, The Sterile Insect Technique will most likely not be an effective management method for BMSB, because in order for this technique to be effective, the females of the species must only mate once in their lifetime, while BMSB females mate multiple times throughout their life (Leskey). In addition, the Sterile Insect Technique is an extraordinarily expensive management method; it is difficult and costly to develop the technology that this technique requires. Also, it is extremely challenging to perfect the dosage of radiation needed to sterilize the male stinkbugs without killing them (Bean). Researchers for the USDA’s ARS have recently identified a pheromone that attracts Brown Marmorated Stink Bug males, females, and nymphs. Scientists and farmers are hopeful that this pheromone can be used to monitor BMSB populations and possibly even serve in traps that will help to manage the population, particularly if the release of the Trissolcus wasps is prohibited (Leskey). Researchers have also found that Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs are attracted to specific light waves or blue or black lights. There are several traps utilizing these color spectra on the market, though their potency is still under evaluation (HGIC Brown Marmorated Stink Bug). As for the different light waves, there are several farms along the East Coast, including Larriland Farm, at which the USDA is experimenting with different light waves and frequencies to determine which ones are attractive to specifically Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs. The USDA researchers have recently identified a light wave that attracts primarily these pests; when this light frequency was tested, the overwhelming majority of insects to appear in the trap were Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (Moore).