Weber and team decipher chemical signals of stink bugs
Ever since the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) was first discovered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the late 1990s, it has spread to more than 40 states and parts of Canada. It has devastated orchards, crops, and fields, and has become a terrible nuisance in gardens, backyards, and homes. It has an appetite for as many as 300 different plants, and it’s been blamed for causing an estimated $37 million in losses in the Mid-Atlantic region for apples alone.
However, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have recently deciphered the chemical signals that the brown marmorated stink bug, also known as the BMSB, uses to attract other stink bugs, opening the door to development of traps and technologies that could help keep the invasive pest out of backyards, homes, and agricultural operations.
A study detailing the structure of the BMSB’s aggregation pheromone — a chemical released by the insect to attract others to its location — and how this attractant can be synthesized has been published in the Journal of Natural Products by scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and their partners.
