Beware of the stink bug!
Posted October 7, 2012 11:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Beware of the stink bug!
The province wants you to keep your eyes peeled for this invasive pest that could destroy local fruit and vegetable crops.
Halyomorpha halys or the brown marmorated stink bug originates from Asia. It first popped up in North America in Pennsylvania in 2001 and has been spread across the US.
It has now been found in California, Oregon and Washington State, which is why Tracy Hueppelsheuser with the Ministry of Agriculture is worried it could be on its way here.
“We don’t know exactly what the impact will be once it arrives in a new environment,” she explains. “We anticipate that it will impact fruits and vegetables and also be a nuisance to home owners.”
The bugs are brown, with white bands on their antennae and they like to fly around in groups. Hueppelsheuser adds they do in fact stink.
“It’s a defensive response when they’re threatened or injured or damaged. They’ll release a smelly substance to scare away the perpetrator.”
The bugs attack numerous types of plants — including tomatoes, soy beans, lima beans and sweet corn — but fruit show the damage more quickly.
