First Report of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Agricultural Crops in Wisconsin: BMSB Found in Apple Orchards in Dane County
Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) adults were found in our monitoring traps in apple orchards and in a pumpkin patch in Dane county, making this the first official report of BMSB in agricultural crops in Wisconsin. We caught up to 18 BMSB adults in a single trap in an apple orchard and a couple in the other apple and pumpkin traps on October 5th, 2016. The numbers in urban areas, especially on campus in Madison are rapidly increasing with dozens captured each day lately on the side of buildings.
As mentioned in the last article on BMSB in the WFN issue 13, BMSBs are actively moving around in search for food and overwintering sites at this time. Apple growers are strongly advised to scout and monitor for the presence of BMSB by visually inspecting fruit and neighboring vegetation around orchards for insects. You are also recommended to check fruit for signs of damage (Fig 1). Traps and lures are commercially available from Ag-Bio, Great Lakes IPM, and other companies and provide a great tool for monitoring for the presence and abundance of BMSB populations in your orchard. Traps will not attract insects from very long distances, and thus will not draw in stink bugs that would not have come to orchards in the first place. Traps have also not been reported to cause additional damage to fruit close to the trap from insects aggregating near the trap.
Several insecticides have proven efficacious against BMSB. If you detect BMSB in your orchard, and numbers warrant the use of an insecticide, some options include pyrethroids (IRAC Group 3A) such as Bifenture (14d PHI), Brigade (14d PHI), Danitol (14d PHI), and Warrior (21d PHI); and neonicotinoids (IRAC Group 4A) such as Assail (7d PHI). Please check the label for specific information and pay special attention to pre-harvest intervals (PHIs).
Please, let us know if you suspect any BMSB in or around your orchard, as well as if you are having issues with stink bugs in general this season. You can email us with any questions or concerns at guedot@wisc.edu.
Happy harvest!
This article was posted in Apples, Insects and tagged Apples, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Christelle Guédot, insects.