Michigan brown marmorated stink bug report for August 29, 2014
A single brown marmorated stink bug adult and two nymphs were caught near Stevensville, Michigan during the week of Aug. 22-29, 2014.
This is the eighth weekly report of the Michigan State University Extension brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) statewide monitoring program for 2014. A single adult was captured in a trap and two nymphs were found on a nearby Autumn Olive bush (Elaeagnus umbellata) at a non-agricultural site near Stevensville, Michigan in Berrien County this week. Elsewhere in the trapping network, no BMSB have been captured in any of our other traps or in sweep netting at the 69 sites being monitored throughout the state.
The monitoring network uses pyramid-style, pheromone-baited traps set up at sites that favor BMSB, near riparian areas or along major transportation corridors in the following counties: Monroe, Lenawee, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Ingham, Lapeer, Saginaw and Bay on the east side of the state, and Antrim, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Oceana, Newaygo, Kent, Ionia, Ottawa, Allegan, Van Buren and Berrien on the west side of the state.
The majority of the sites in the network include farms that grow a variety of fruit and vegetable crops including apples, tart cherries, sweet cherries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, and sweet corn. In addition, some of our traps have been placed along roadsides next to field crops, or in urban and suburban areas where homeowners have reported seeing BMSB in the past. The site where we captured the one adult and two nymphs this week is one of our urban sites where BMSB were found in significant number last year.
Although we continue to catch little to no BMSB each week, we know that BMSB are present in Michigan because of reports that have come mainly from homeowners in various parts of the state, and from sweep netting conducted in the edge of soybean fields. This monitoring network has been set up to provide early warning should BMSB start showing up in greater numbers in fruit and vegetable production areas as it has in mid-Atlantic states over the last decade.
To learn more about how to monitor for the brown marmorated stink bug, distinguish it from other similar-looking stink bugs, what crops it favors, and management strategies should populations reach the threshold where management is necessary, visit MSU’s Brown Marmorated Stink Bug website.
The weekly BMSB statewide monitoring report has been funded through Project GREEEN and Michigan State University Extension. This output is generated through a network of MSU Extension field staff and campus specialists. We would like to acknowledge the following team members and thank them for their weekly scouting efforts and input into this report: Peter McGhee, Michael Haas, Bob Tritten, Mark Longstroth, Brad Baughman, Carlos Garcia, Amy Irish-Brown, Lina Rodriguez Salamanca, Ben Philips, Ben Werling, Mark Whalon, Karen Powers, and Nikki Rothwell.
Dr. Gut’s work is funded in part by MSU’s AgBioResearch.
