Stink Bug Predator Found In U.S.

By Growing Produce Staff|March 18, 2015

A wasp native to the regions of Asia where the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) originates, which is known to attack the eggs of BMSB and possibly other stink bugs, has been has been found in the wild in the U.S.

The wasp, Trissolcus japonicas, doesn’t sting or otherwise harm humans, according to a report posted on the website of Stop BMSB, a USDA research effort.

However, scientists are working to determine how it might affect stink bugs of all kinds. Kim Hoelmer, an entomologist with USDA Agricultural Research Service, wrote:

“A survey of resident egg parasitoids of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorphahalys, conducted during the summer of 2014 by Don Weber (ARS-Beltsville Area Research Center, or BARC) using sentinel stink bug egg masses revealed that an Asian egg parasitoid of BMSB, Trissolcus japonicus, was present in the wild at one of his study sites at BARC in Beltsville, MD. The specimens were identified by Dr. Elijah Talamas (ARS, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, or SEL), a specialist on this group of parasitoids. We have complete confidence in his identifications.”

For the rest of Hoelmer’s statement, go to StopBMSB.org.