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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #378251
Research Project: Ecology and Biologically-based Management Systems for Insect Pests in Agricultural Landscapes in the Southeastern Region

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Spatiotemporal distribution of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in peach orchards and surronding habitat

Author
item Grabarczyk, Erin
item Olson, Dawn
item Tillman, Patricia - Glynn
item HODGES, AMANDA - University Of Florida
item HODGES, G - Florida Department Of Agriculture
item HORTON, DAN - University Of Georgia
item Cottrell, Ted

Submitted to: Florida Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/8/2020
Publication Date: 3/1/2021
Citation: Grabarczyk, E.E., Olson, D.M., Tillman, P.G., Hodges, A.C., Hodges, G., Horton, D.L., Cottrell, T.E. 2021. Spatiotemporal distribution of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in peach orchards and surronding habitat. Florida Entomologist. Vol. 104, No. 1 (March 2021).

Interpretive Summary: In the southeastern USA, two stink bugs, the brown stink bug and the dusky stink bug are commonly found near peach orchards. But whether they attack and eat peaches within an orchard may depend on the time of year that the fruits ripen and whether or not there is favored habitat next to a particular orchard. Research scientists from ARS and the University of Georgia found large numbers of the brown stink bug in peaches. This stink bug was also commonly found in planted pine and pecan trees next to orchards. The dusky stink bug was rarely found in peaches and appeared to instead prefer woodland habitat. For peach growers, this means that management strategies aimed at controlling stink bugs may need to occur both on the peach trees as well as in other habitat such as pine and pecan next to orchards

Technical Abstract: Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are an economic pest of crops across the southeastern USA, and damage by stink bugs to peaches is common. The landscape surrounding orchards may influence stink bug distribution and dispersal into peaches, but such patterns may vary over the growing season. Accordingly, stink bug control methods should be seasonally targeted towards habitats that effectively reduce or prevent damage to peach. In this study, we used pheromone-baited traps to characterize distribution patterns of two stink bugs, Euschistus servus (Say) and Euschistus tristigmus (Say), in peach orchards and the surrounding habitat over two seasons at three sites in central Georgia. In addition, we used Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices to identify significant aggregations of each species over the season. Adults captured in traps differed by species and distribution patterns varied by habitat and week sampled. Euschistus servus was commonly found in peaches, whereas E. tristigmus was not. Regardless of orchard or year, adult E. servus tended to avoid woodland habitat, whereas E. tristigmus tended to prefer this habitat type. The number of adult stink bugs captured in peaches increased later in the season. Significant spatial aggregations of both E. servus and E. tristigmus were detected at all orchards, however the week in which aggregations were detected varied by orchard and year. Across all orchards, clusters of E. servus adults in peach primarily occurred adjacent to pecan trees, followed by pine, fallow, and kudzu habitats. Adult E. tristigmus clusters adults were mainly found in pine, woodland, and pecan. E. tristigmus was only found in peach at one site, in traps that were adjacent to woodlands. Such distribution patterns of E. servus and E. tristigmus suggest that control measures may need to be implemented on a fine spatial scale across peach and non-crop habitats.