Location: Southeast Watershed Research
2016 Annual Report
Objectives
1. Determine biological, ecological, and structural mechanisms driving stink bug population dynamics in landscapes composed of agricultural (e.g., corn, peanut, cotton, and soybean) and non-agricultural habitats to design management strategies for stink bugs in the Southeastern Region of the United States.
1.A. Determine the seasonal occurrence and biology of stink bugs in non-crop habitats in agricultural landscapes.
1.B. Determine stink bug dispersal from non-crop hosts into cotton and the impact on cotton in terms of boll injury.
1.C. Investigate the potential for host-associated differentiation (HAD) in parasitoids of stink bug adult, nymph and egg stages.
2. Develop and test biologically-based management strategies, including augmentative releases of parasitoids, trapping insect pests with pheromone traps, elimination of non-crop sources of stink bugs, biopesticides, and multifunctional trap cropping systems, to monitor and/or control native and naturalized stink bugs and the invasive kudzu bug and the brown marmorated stink bug in the Southeastern Region of the United States.
2.A. Determine the efficacy of augmentative releases of kudzu bug parasitoids in reducing kudzu bug populations.
2.B. Monitor populations of the newly invasive brown marmorated stink bug using pheromone-baited stink bug traps.
2.C. Determine the effect of selected biopesticides on the kudzu bug in soybean.
2.D. Examine the utility of eliminating non-crop host plants of stink bugs along field edges for reduction of stink bug dispersal into cotton.
2.E. Evaluate the effectiveness of using a soybean trap cropping system to manage stink bugs attacking cotton.
Approach
Collect data on the seasonal occurrence, development and feeding and mating behavior of stink bugs in known and potential non-crop habitats surrounding row crops in 10-12 agricultural landscapes. Conduct a study of stink bug dispersal from known non-crop hosts into cotton and their impact on cotton boll injury in 6-8 agricultural landscapes. Conduct a study on the presence of host-associated differentiation in parasitoids of stink bug adults, nymphs and eggs collected in cotton and soybean fields and from nearby known non-crop host plants. Conduct a study on the effects of augmentative releases of an exotic kudzu bug egg parasitoid on kudzu bug density in 10 kudzu patches in North and South Georgia and nearby soybean fields. Monitor populations of the newly invasive brown marmorated stink bug north of the Coastal Plain in Georgia using pyramid stink bug traps baited with lures and map its distribution and spread in Georgia. Conduct studies in experimental plots on selected biopesticide effects on kudzu bug populations in soybean. Conduct a study on the elimination of known non-crop host plants of stink bugs along 6 cotton field edges on stink bug dispersal into the cotton field. Conduct a study in a grower’s peanut-cotton farmscape on the effect of a soybean trap cropping system on the density of stink bugs attacking cotton.
Progress Report
An on-farm study on stink bug populations on non-crop host plants has shown that four stink bug species develop to adults on elderberry in woodlands. The first year of a study determining the genetic structure and parasitism rates of stink bug parasitoids on crop and non-crop host plants is underway, and several specimens have been collected to date with further collections and analyses ongoing. A southern region (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama) brown marmorated stink bug working group was established to prioritize stakeholder interests, update known host plants, and coordinate monitoring efforts within the region. The invasive species was captured in woodlands near orchards and row crops in the region. As part of this project, a study was conducted to determine the response of stink bug nymphs to their attraction pheromone. More nymphs were captured in stink bug traps with the pheromone lure than in unbaited traps confirming that nymphs are actually attracted to the pheromone. A small plot study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of three biopesticides against the kudzu bug.
Accomplishments
1. Attraction of stink bug nymphs to stink bug aggregation pheromone. Male-produced aggregation pheromones of stink bugs are known to be attractive to adults, but very little is known regarding attraction of these compounds to nymphs. ARS researchers in Tifton and Byron, Georgia, conducted a study to examine the attractiveness of the aggregation pheromone of the brown stink bug to nymphs. Higher numbers of nymphs were captured in stink bug traps with pheromone lures than in un-baited traps in the field. This confirms that nymphs are not randomly entering traps but are actually attracted to the pheromone. Thus, stink bug traps baited with aggregation pheromone can be used as monitoring tools to assess not only the presence, but also the development, of stink bug pest species on crop and non-crop host plants and perhaps to predict timing of dispersal into a crop.
None.
Review Publications
Olson, D.M., Ruberson, J.R., Andow, D.A. 2016. Relative longevity of adult Nezara viridula in field cages of cotton,peanut, and soybean. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 159:30-36. https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12408.
Zeilinger, A.R., Olson, D.M., Andow, D.A. 2016. Competitive release and outbreaks of non-target pests associated with transgenic Bt cotton. Ecological Applications. 26(4):1047-1054. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-1314.
Hazir, S., Shapiro-Ilan, D.I., Hazir, C., Leite, L., Cakmak, I., Olson, D.M. 2016. Multifaceted effects of host plants on entomopathogenic nematodes. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 135:53-59.
Potter, T.L., Olson, D.M., Ni, X., Raines, G.C. 2015. A re-examination of corn (Zea mays L.) ear volatiles. Phytochemistry Letters. 14:280-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytol.2015.10.026.
