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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #387239
Research Project: Integrated Production and Automation Systems for Temperate Fruit Crops

Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection

Title: Seasonal distribution of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) captures in woods-to-orchard pheromone trap transects in Virginia

Author
item HADDEN, WHITNEY - Virginia Tech
item NIXON, LAURA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Leskey, Tracy
item BERGH, J. CHRISTOPHER - Virginia Tech

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2021
Publication Date: 11/26/2021
Citation: Hadden, W., Nixon, L.J., Leskey, T.C., Bergh, J. 2021. Seasonal distribution of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) captures in woods-to-orchard pheromone trap transects in Virginia. Journal of Economic Entomology. 115(1):109-115. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toab226.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toab226

Interpretive Summary: The invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a serious pest of tree fruit orchards. BMSB will move from woodland habitats into crops, but little is known about seasonal abundance at different points throughout the growing season. Using six pheromone-baited pyramid traps that extended from 50 m into the interior of woodlots to 50 m into the interior of adjacent commercial apple orchards, we tracked seasonal abundance along this transect from May to October. Only adults were captured during the early season, and there was no indication of a spatial trend at that point in the growing season. During the mid and late season, captures of BMSB tended to become most frequent in traps at the woods and orchard edges, and at 50 m into the orchard interior. These findings support and expand upon previous research, documenting strong edge effects from BMSB and border-based management tactics.

Technical Abstract: The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is a pest of numerous economically important crops in the USA. In the Mid-Atlantic region, it is a significant, direct pest in tree fruit orchards, many of which are bordered by woodlots containing a variety of its tree and shrub hosts. During the growing season, H. halys moves from woodland habitats into crops, but seasonal changes in its relative abundance between these adjacent habitats has not been examined. Using linear transects of six pheromone-baited pyramid traps that extended from 50 m into the interior of woodlots to 50 m into the interior of adjacent commercial apple orchards in Virginia, spatiotemporal changes in H. halys captures were measured during three growing seasons. Captures of H. halys adults and nymphs were recorded weekly from May through October, and annual data were separated into early, mid, and late season captures. Only adults were captured during the early season, and there was no indication of a spatial trend across traps in the transects among years. Beginning in mid-season and becoming increasingly apparent by late season, captures of H. halys adults and nymphs tended to become most frequent in traps at the woods and orchard edges, and at 50 m into the orchard interior. These findings conform with and expand upon previous research documenting an edge effect for H. halys relative abundance and can inform and support the optimization of perimeter-based management strategies for H. halys in Mid-Atlantic apple orchards.