Southern Green Stink Bug

Southern Green Stink Bug

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The southern green stink bug (SGSB), Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is a serious agricultural pest worldwide. Its host range includes soybean and other field crops, a variety of fruits and nuts, and many vegetables. Earlier research in the ICEL and elsewhere showed that sexually mature N. viridula males release an attractant pheromone, the major components of which are (Z)-a-bisabolene (1-methyl-4-(1,5-di- methyl-(Z)-1,4-hexadienyl)-cyclohexene) and trans- and cis- 1,2-epoxides of (Z)-a-bisabolene. However, pheromone-trapping efforts for the SGSB in the field have thus far employed only blends of the epoxides, with marginal success. Recent GC-EAD analyses in ICEL using the antennae of female SGSBs as well as antennae of the parasitoid fly, Trichopoda pennipes (Diptera: Tachinidae), indicate that (Z)-a-bisabolene is at least as active as the epoxides. Racemic (Z)-a-bisabolene and the trans- and cis-1,2-epoxides of (Z)-a-bisabolene have been freshly synthesized to pursue this line of research. In addition, another line of research has been initiated using N. viridula; namely, exploring the possibilities to control Heteroptera by transgenic modifications of the insects or their bacterial symbionts ("paratransgenesis"). Research by Dr. Alfred Handler (ARS, Gainesville, FL) has demonstrated that the SGSB is susceptible to the so-called piggyBac transposable element originally found in Lepidoptera. Currently we are in the early stages, in collaboration with Dr. Handler's laboratory, of generating a genomic library for N. viridula, and discussing strategies for future research along these lines. Simultaneously, we have been collaborating with Dr. Phyllis Martin (ARS, Beltsville) on isolation of the symbiotic bacterium found in the gastric caeca of Nezara as a potential target for transgenic modifications that could be lethal to the insect under certain conditions such as hot summer temperatures. To date, we have isolated and successfully cultured a gram-negative bacterium (probably a Yokenella sp.) from the mid-gut caeca of N. viridula that is apparently the host-specific symbiont of the SGSB.