The Bagrada bug, Bagrada hilaris, a colorful stink bug much smaller than the brown marmorated stink bug, prefers to feed on crucifers. It is a seed and bud feeder that can be very damaging to cole crop vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. In the landscape it can become very abundant on alyssum, stock, candy tuft, and mustards. The best strategy for landscapes infested with this pest is to replace alyssum and other hosts with alternative plants that it does not feed on.
In the United States, the bagrada bug was first found in Los Angeles County in 2008. By 2011, the pest had disseminated throughout Southern...
The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) or BMSB is a new invasive pest of urban and suburban homes and landscapes in California.
A native of Asia, the brown marmorated stink bug immigrated into the United States in the 1990s but has only recently been reported in California. The bug prefers to feed on seeds and fruits, so is most damaging to fruit crops; however, it is a polyphagous feeder that may feed on fruit, leaves, or seeds of many ornamental plants as well.
Landscape managers may become most aware of this new pest in the fall when it aggregates in very large numbers on trees or within dwellings, often becoming a nuisance pest.
For more information about the brown marmorated stink bug, read the...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The California population of brown marmorated stink bugs, a pest introduced into the state from its native Asia, continues to spread and increase in and around Sacramento, said a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) expert who appeared today on Capitol Public Radio's Insight program with Beth Ruyak.
Chuck Ingels, UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor in Sacramento County, said BMSB was first spotted in 2013 in Sacramento and each year the numbers have grown. This year, the warm spring gave BMSB a head start, portending significant...
Every year, California receives, on average, six new exotic invasive pests of concern; that's about one new pest every 60 days. These may be plants, insects or other arthropods, mollusks, plant pathogens such as fungi and bacteria, vertebrates, or any other organism not native to our state and with the capacity to negatively impact agriculture, urban environments and/or natural ecosystems. These invasive pests enter California on plant material and other biological substrates, as hitchhikers on trade goods and in ship ballast water, and sometimes even because of smuggling operations. Without the natural enemies that kept them in check in their native lands, they are free to reproduce and wreak havoc. Such pest invasions may then lead to...
The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), a new invasive pest that originated in Asia, is moving into California gardens and landscapes. This stink bug has devastated fruit and vegetable crops in the eastern U.S. and is beginning to establish itself on the West Coast. BMSB built up significant overwintering populations in landscapes in the City of Sacramento last fall and has been found sporadically in many other areas of the state from San Diego northward. It could become a pest in gardens in some parts of the state as soon as this year. A new UC IPM Pest Note: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug written by Chuck Ingels, UCCE Sacramento, and Lucia Varela, UC Statewide IPM...