The spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), can feed on more than 70 species of insects including immature stages of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. P. maculiventris is native to North America and there was an attempt and failure to import P. maculiventris to South Korea in 1970s. Recently, P. maculiventris was successfully re-introduced to South Korea and is being contained and reared in a quarantined facility at the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, South Korea. In this presentation, we will introduce this new biological control agent targeting major lepidopteran and coleopteran pests in agriculture and forest. In addition, current research on mass rearing and aerial release of P. maculiventris using drones will be presented.

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

The spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a generalist predator commonly found in North America. The spined soldier bug can feed on more than 70 species of insects including immature stages of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. The spined soldier bug can inhabit various agricultural ecosystems (i.e. crop fields, forests, and grasslands) and plays a key role in the control of major insect pests. The spined solider bug has high the potential for augmentative biological control because it has a high reproduction rate. In 2016, 500 eggs of the spined soldier bug were introduced to South Korea from U.S.A. under the cooperative research project between West Virginia University and the National Institute of Agricultural Science (NIAS), Rural Development Administration. Currently the spined soldier bug is being reared in a quarantined facility at NIAS. In this presentation, we will describe the natural history of the spined soldier bug in North America including its feeding ability as a generalist predator, its potential for biological control of various agricultural and forest pests, and its response to aggregation pheromone. In addition, current research at West Virginia University including mass rearing and aerial release using unmanned aerial vehicles (a.k.a. drones) of the spined soldier bug will be presented.

Podisus maculiventris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)는 국내에서 기록되어 있지 않은 종이나, 전 세계적으로 8개과 75종 이상의 경제적으로 중요한 해충을 포식하는 천적으로 알려져 있다. 본 연구는 상기 천적에 대한 국내 도입가능성 및 대량 사육조건 탐색을 위하여 다섯 가지 변온조건으로 설정된 유리 온실에서 성충의 산란 및 수명을 조사, 분석하였다. 성충의 평균 수명은 24℃ 설정 온실에서 38.6일로 가장 길었고, 32℃ 설정 온실에서 17.3일로 가장 짧았다. 산란은 모든 변온 조건에서 가능하였으며 암컷 당 산란 수는 24℃ 설정 온실에서 113.1개로 가장 많았고, 16℃ 설정 온실에서 17.2개로 가장 적었다. 추정된 성충발육율 함수, 생존율 함수, 누적산란완료 함수는 비교적 높은 모형 적합성과 통계적 유의성을 보여주었다. 개발된 함수와 상용 프로그램을 이용하여 산란 모델을 구축하고 시뮬레이션 한 결과 평균온도 25℃에서 성충은 2일째부터 산란하기 시작하여 11일째 가장 많은 수를 산란하였으며, 17일째 산란이 종료되었다. 이상의 결과들은 변온 조건에서 Podisus maculiventris의 개체군 밀도 변동을 이해하는 기초 자료로 또한 대량 사육 조건 탐색을 위한 기반 자료로 활용할 수 있을 것으로 기대 된다.