Behavior of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), in the Utah Agricultural Landscape Based on Trap Captures and Visual Sampling Studies

Urban Farm DB summary

This study examined behavior of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys) in the agricultural landscape of Utah, United States, using pyramid and sticky panel trap captures and visual plant inspections. First discovered in Utah in 2012, with crop damage first reported in 2017, BMSB was sampled at nine orchard and community garden sites (each under 2.5 ha) growing peach, apple, pear, tart cherry, and diverse vegetables, testing whether Utah's high-elevation (>1,200 m) agricultural regions, arid climate, and small production fields surrounded by suburban development alter attraction patterns and monitoring effectiveness compared with other BMSB-invaded regions. Sampling covered four within-site locations (exterior, border, border-interior, center) across early, mid-, and late season. Results did not support a preference for field-site borders found in other U.S. regions and crop situations. Pyramid traps captured significantly more BMSB than sticky panel traps throughout the season and significantly more than visual inspections in mid- and late season; correlation between pyramid and sticky panel trap catches was weak in both 2018 and 2019. The study concludes pyramid traps, especially combined with visual inspection near pheromone-baited traps, are optimal for Utah's low-population, small-field (<2.5 ha) agricultural landscape, and that border-focused management strategies may be less effective there than in regions with larger fields and higher BMSB infestations.