Evaluating invasion risk and population dynamics of the brown marmorated stink bug across the contiguous United States.

BACKGROUND: Invasive species threaten the productivity and stability of natural and managed ecosystems. Predicting the spread of invaders, which can aid in early mitigation efforts, is a major challenge, especially in the face of climate change. While ecological niche models are effective tools to assess habitat suitability for invaders, such models have rarely been created for invasive pest species with rapidly expanding ranges. Here, we leveraged a national monitoring effort from 543 sites over 3 years to assess factors mediating the occurrence and abundance of brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys), an invasive insect pest that has readily established throughout much of the United States. RESULTS: We used maximum entropy models to estimate the suitable habitat of BMSB under several climate scenarios, and generalized boosted models to assess environmental factors that regulated BMSB abundance. Our models captured BMSB distribution and abundance with high accuracy, and predicted a 70% increase in suitable habitat under future climate scenarios. However, environmental factors that mediated the geographical distribution of BMSB were different from those driving abundance. While BMSB occurrence was most affected by winter precipitation and proximity to populated areas, BMSB abundance was influenced most strongly by evapotranspiration and solar photoperiod. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that linking models of establishment (occurrence) and population dynamics (abundance) offers a more effective way to forecast the spread and impact of BMSB and other invasive species than simply occurrence-based models, allowing for targeted mitigation efforts. Implications of distribution shifts under climate change are discussed. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Improved Trap Designs and Retention Mechanisms for Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

Current monitoring systems for the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera; Pentatomidae) in orchard agroecosystems rely on ground-deployed tall black pyramid traps baited with the two-component H. halys aggregation pheromone and pheromone synergist. Pyramid traps are comparatively costly, require considerable time to deploy and service, and may not be best suited to grower needs. Therefore, we evaluated other traps for H. halys, including modified pyramid traps (lures deployed on the outside), a canopy-deployed small pyramid, a pipe trap, delta traps, and yellow sticky cards in 2015 and 2016 in commercial apple and peach orchards. We also compared various H. halys killing agents for use in standard pyramid trap collection jars, including VaporTape kill strips, cattle ear tags, and plastic netting treated with various pyrethroids. Finally, we evaluated the effect of positioning the lures inside versus outside the collection jar on standard pyramid traps on overall captures. Among trap types, modified pyramid and pipe traps were most effective, capturing more adults than all other trap designs. Adult captures in small canopy-deployed pyramid, delta, and yellow sticky traps were lower, but significantly correlated with the standard black pyramid. Placing lures on the outside of collection jars on pyramid traps resulted in significantly greater captures and insecticide-impregnated netting was as effective for retaining bugs as VaporTape strips. These studies demonstrate that trapping systems for H. halys can be simplified and improved by modifying the trap design, lure deployment location, and/or killing agent.