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Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) Ecology in Nebraska Agroecosystems
Abstract
Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) have gained considerable attention in Nebraska in the last decade due to increasing densities of native stink bug and spread of invasive species in the Midwest. Little is known about stink bug dynamics in Nebraska cropping systems. Based on data from a recent field survey, specimens at the University of Nebraska State Museum and the diagnostic lab of the Entomology Department at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, as well as published literature, we present a checklist of 72 species and subspecies of Pentatomidae (55 Pentatominae, 13 Asopinae, 3 Podopinae and 1 Edessinae) that occur in the state of Nebraska. Twenty five are new state records. Survey of corn and soybean fields in 2017, 2018 and 2019 show a stink bug complex consisting of 10 phytophagous and one predatory species, Podisus maculiventris (Say). The most abundant species is the onespotted stink bug, Euschistus variolarius Palisot de Beauvois, which made up approximately 83% and 67% of total adult samples collected in corn and soybean, respectively. Data suggest that Nebraska stink bug population are bivoltine and within field distribution show no edge effect. Investigation of the parasitoid complex infesting stink bugs in Nebraska yielded two adult parasitoids Euthera tentatrix Loew and Cylindromyia fumipennis (Bigot) (Diptera: Tachinidae), and one egg parasitoids Telenomus podisi Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae). Overall parasitism rate was ~1.5% by Dipterans, while mean parasitism was up to 90% by the egg parasitoid. The effect of feeding damage on field corn artificially infested with adult Euschistus variolarius (Palisot de Beauvois) had kernel damage ranging from 0.22% to 18% depending on pest density. Understanding the different aspects of stink bug ecology will provide answers to some of the elements of integrated pest management (IPM) necessary for making informed management decisions that will benefit growers in Nebraska and by extension, the Midwest. This is in the hope that losses due to stink bug damage will be reduced and ultimately, lead to increased profitability for growers.
Subject Area
Agriculture
Recommended Citation
Ademokoya, Blessing, "Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) Ecology in Nebraska Agroecosystems" (2021). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI28865911.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI28865911