The Asian brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a polyphagous pest that damages several agricultural crops:
- fruit trees (apple, pear, hazelnut, peach, apricot, cherry, plum, peach, nectarine, etc.);
- fruit bushes (blackberries, raspberries, etc.), vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, beans, sweet corn, etc.), vines;
- ornamental plants (maples, roses, lilac, linden, catalpa, ash, oak, acacia, etc., and it is extremely disturbing for people, as it enters homes, warehouses, sheds, etc.).
When feeding, the stink bug can easily transmit various pathogens (yeasts, bacteria, phytoplasmosis, fungi, etc.) from one plant to another.
Brown or blackish spots and dots appear on the fruit where the bugs have stung.
When threatened, adult stink bugs excrete foul-smelling liquid.
And the attacked plants acquire a bug-like taste and are impossible to eat or use in canning.
A few years ago in Italy, France, Turkey and especially Georgia, the brown marmorated stink bug destroyed hazelnut plantations to the point of total crop loss. National plans to control this pest have been developed with the help of the US. From hazelnut plantations, this bug also devastated corn crops.
In 2018 and 2019 damage reports showed that the brown marmorated stink bug has also become a dangerous insect for special crops in many regions of Switzerland.
Since 2019, ANSA has warned of an invasion of the brown marmorated stink bug on the territory of Moldova, among other countries.
Infestation of these pests can be suppressed by using Halyomorpha halys lure - two cellulose dispensers, one impregnated with aggregation pheromone, and the other one with an attractant, which attracts Halyomorpha halys pests.
According to ANSA, it is recommended to comply with the international legislation regarding the protection measures against the introduction of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and their spread in the importing countries by the exporters, through the visual check both of the stored products, as well as of the batch intended for export.