Laboratory evaluation of the susceptibility of the Kudzu Bug (Hemiptera: Megacopta cribraria) to various insecticides

In this study we are looking at the effects of multiple pesticides on the Kudzu bug (Hemiptera: Plataspidae: Megacopta cribraria). This insect is not endogenous to the United States-it was shipped to America from Japan accidently in 2009. The kudzu bug first established itself in Georgia and soon spread to several other states in the southeast including Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, and has been documented in Mississippi. The kudzu bug is not only a house pest but it is also an agricultural pest for leguminous plants such as soybeans. Baseline susceptibilities to representative organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides using the adult vial test and topical application bioassays will be reported.  Mortality and knockdown+mortality were recorded for each replication of each pesticide at each rate.  Results were compared using POLO Plus Software (LeOra, CA). Bioassays were conducted to compare the susceptibilities of overwintering adults versus last generation adults, the susceptibilities of  adults and nymphs collected from kudzu versus adults and nymphs collected from soybeans, and the effects of various synergists on the susceptibilities of adults.