Host plant preference of the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) in northern Virginia on the farm at Sunnyside

Since the beginning of time farmers have battled with pests that were damaging their crops.  DDT was first used to control agricultural pests in the early 20^th century and since then an exponential number of pesticides have been synthesized in an attempt to curb the crop damage inflicted by a variety of pests.  There are many harmful side effects to humans, beneficial insects, animals and the environment as a result of these chemicals being used on crops.  The objective of this project is to determine which host plant(s) the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha Halys) (BMSB) prefers based on relative abundance of populations found among study sites.  This experiment took place at The Farm at Sunnyside located in Washington, Virginia which is nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  There were 10 study sites used in this experiment which were visually monitored for 10 minutes each day that the weather was favorable.  Half of the study sites were used for comparing different host species to each other while the other half were used for single host species counts. The numbers of different instars were recorded per study site, grouped weekly, and were then processed into bar graphs for analysis.  Towards the end of the season it was noted that the BMSB populations increased/decreased based on what food source was available at different times throughout the season.  This observation shows that the BMSB is extremely opportunistic and was seen to adapt to any and all changes that occurred.  Overall, this study proved that BMSBs preferred ailanthus to peach and mulberry, apples to ailanthus, pear to apple and cherry to pear.  Large populations of BMSBs were found in corn, blackberries and mulberries when they were fruiting and were seen to be a favorite overall.  Smooth sumac began to fruit in the 6^th week of the experiment and BMSBs were seen to move off the peach and mulberry trees and begin feeding on the sumac.

 

KEYWORDS  Pesticide, opportunistic, instars, populations.