The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive insect pest from Eastern Asia. Since its invasion into North America during the late 1990s, frequent outbreaks of BMSB have caused considerable economic damage to orchards, field crops, and vegetables. Currently, management practices in the United States rely on insecticides to control BMSB. Therefore, identification of potential natural enemies of BMSB is crucial to justify integrated pest management (IPM). We investigated the viability of using the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), as a potential biological control agent for BMSB. In this study, we used choice and non-choice tests to determine which life stages of the spined soldier bug can effectively kill specific stages of BMSB using videography. Prey searching and feeding behavior of the spined soldier bug and defensive behavior of BMSB were analyzed. Our study showed that BMSB eggs and nymphs attacked by the spined soldier bug had a mortality rate of 100%. We also observed that all first instar BMSB remained on the egg cluster allowing the spined soldier bug to attack and kill many BMSB during one feeding session. The results indicate that the spined soldier bug has the potential for killing BMSB

• John Moredock(West Virginia University)
• Yong-Lak Park(West Virginia University)
• Chang-Gyu Park(National Institute of Agricultural Science)
• Bo Yoon Seo(National Institute of Agricultural Science)