Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål), has become an important pest of soybean in the Mid-Atlantic US. To assess the influence of tree borders on BMSB infestations in soybean, twelve fields were sampled weekly using five 3-min visual counts of BMSB on tree of heaven (TOH) (Ailanthus altissima) and other host trees along a wooded border, on the adjacent soybean edge, 15 m and 30 m into the soybean field. At all locations, BMSB densities increased on TOH wooded borders in July, then, gradually moved into adjacent soybean borders later in the summer. BMSB did not move far from the field edge, with approximately half as many bugs being present at 15 m into the field and very few being detected 30 m into the field. These results validate the use of border sprays for BMSB control in soybean.
Additional studies conducted in 2013 and 2014 compared a visual plant inspection method with a standard sweep net strategy for sampling BMSB. Overall, the two methods were highly correlated with a correlation coefficient of R=0.83. Visual inspection appears to be an effective method for assessing BMSB populations in soybean.
One of the major factors affecting the distribution and establishment of invasive species is climate. The CLIMEX modeling software uses climatic and biological factors of species to predict the geographic risk for pest outbreaks. A climate simulation model was run with CLIMEX to determine the potential distribution of BMSB in Virginia based on temperature. To develop a more accurate model, factors like resource availability and source population would need to be considered. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a major pest of many crops, including soybean. Before moving into soybean the bug has been observed on other preferred hosts (primarily tree of heaven) in neighboring forest edges. To determine the relationship of these hosts to BMSB and its movement into soybean fields we sampled these forest edges, the neighboring field edge, 15 m into the field, and 30 m into the field. Results showed that BMSB populations were high on the forest edges early in the season and increased rapidly on neighboring field edge when soybeans begin developing pods and seeds. Bugs rarely moved past the 15 m sample zone. These results validate the use of border sprays for BMSB control in soybean.
Sampling for BMSB with a sweep net has proven to be a challenge as the insect has a strong “startle response” where it will drop from the plant after slight disturbance. To assess the relationship between a standard sweep net sampling strategy and a new 2-min visual inspection method we sampled soybean fields in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware in 2013 and 2014. Data suggested that the 2-min visual inspection method can be used as an alternative to sweep net sampling.
Climate plays a critical role in the geographic distribution of species. We ran a climate simulation model with CLIMEX (modeling software) to determine the potential distribution of BMSB in Virginia based on temperature. To develop a more accurate model, additional factors like resource availability and distance from source population would need to be considered.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/82742 |
| Date | 14 October 2016 |
| Creators | Aigner, Benjamin L. |
| Contributors | Entomology, Herbert, D. Ames Jr., Brewster, Carlyle C., Kuhar, Thomas P. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet, application/octet-stream |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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