Posts Tagged: stink bugs
Another Fun Insect Pest!
I know you'll be glad to hear that there is a new garden pest in the Eastern Sierra. Well, it's...
Green Stink Bugs in Macadamias
The green stink bug is the dominant species found in fruit and nut trees; the others are found primarily in vegetables. Stink bug infestations originate when adults fly in from weedy areas. Damage is often limited to the edges of fields near these areas, but in years with a lot of spring rain and late weed growth, stink bugs may be numerous and damage more widespread. The southern green stink bug has piercing-sucking mouthparts. The mouth consists of a long beak-like structure called the rostrum. Salivary fluid is pumped down the salivary duct and liquefied food is pumped up the food canal.
Life Cycle
The southern green stink bug can complete its life cycle in 65 to 70 days. Females can lay eggs 3-4 weeks after becoming adults. A female southern green stink bug could lay as many as 260 eggs over her life span. The eggs are drum-shaped with circular "lids" are laid ire deposited on the undersides of leaves. The nymphs, nearly round & often brightly colored, remain close together at first but scatter as they grow. They pass through four or five molts, gradually developing wings & adult coloration.
Damage
Overwinters as an adult, & hides in the bark of trees, leaf litter, or other locations to obtain protection from the weather. As spring temperatures begin to warm, the southern green stink bug moves out of the winter cover to feed. Is normally determined after nuts are harvested & processed, which may be many months after damage occurred in the field. Damage occurs to the nut when the stink bug places its stylet-like mouthparts on the nut husk & secretes saliva containing a suite of digestive enzymes that softens the husk, allowing it to insert its mouthparts through the husk and
A major drawback in management is the lack of an effective monitoring technique (Jones 2002, Les-key & Hogmire 2005), an issue we address in many studies. Southern green stinkbug cannot survive on macadamia nuts alone and require a primary food plant, or host. Stinkbugs reproduce and develop on the weeds and feed on macadamia when their primary food plants become unavailable.
Growers who continually experience damage should monitor weed hosts surrounding the crop field. It may be possible to utilize trap-borders of preferred hosts such as Crotalaria (rattlepod) to attract and hold stink bug populations. Stink bugs will usually remain on the plants where parasites can readily find them. It is important that these borders not be allowed to dry before control occurs. California used Trissolcus basalis in an effort to control its southern green stink bug population.
Insecticidal applications are usually not required, however sprays may be needed if stink bug populations are high. This pest can be chemically controlled by the use of carbamates & organophosphate compounds. However, because most of these compounds persist on the treated plant for a relatively short period, the crop is vulnerable to re-infestation from nearby areas.
Three's a Crowd: The Saga of Two Stink Bugs and a Bee
So, here we are, a couple of stink bugs hidden in the lavender. Unnoticed. Undetected....
Find the redshouldered stink bugs in the lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee seeking nectar buzzes by the stink bugs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee ignores the stink bugs and sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lester Ehler: 1946-2016
Noted entomologist and biological control specialist Lester Ervin “Les” Ehler, UC Davis...
Emeritus professor Les Ehler, an avid fisherman, posed for this photo in 2008. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Professor Les Ehler enjoying a day of fishing. This photo, provided by colleague Larry Godfrey, was taken in 2007, a year before he retired.
What’s attacking your landscape? Read all about it in the newly released book from UC ANR
Now in its third edition, this integrated pest management (IPM) how-to guide is a comprehensive resource for arborists, home gardeners, landscapers, parks and ground managers, and retail nurseries. It contains solutions for hundreds of insects, mites, nematodes, plant disorders and diseases, and weeds that can damage California landscapes.
Dozens of pests new to this edition include those affecting azaleas, camellias, camphor, eucalyptus, hibiscus, liquidambar, maples, oaks, olive, palms, pines, roses and sycamores.
A very important part of pest management is designing a pest-tolerant landscape, choosing the right plants for the location, and maintaining the landscape with appropriate irrigation, fertilizer, and other cultural practices to keep plants healthy.
These practices are featured along with information on how to:
- prevent pest problems and plant damage
- monitor for pests efficiently
- conserve natural enemies to provide biological control, and
- selectively use pesticides in ways that minimize adverse impacts
Problem-Solving Tables include the specific pests for each of over 200 genera of trees and shrubs, referring to the pages with their photographs and management solutions.
Pests of Landscape Trees and Shrubs: An Integrated Pest Management Guide, Third Edition, can be ordered through the ANR catalog. For more information, see the UC IPM website.