Stink Bugs
Current Events Article
In the article “Asian stink bugs are here” it describes introduced specie called the stink bug that has invaded Maryland. The brown stink bug is an invasive insect species from Asia, and was first reported in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1998. They are an insect that comes out in the autumn, but during the winter season they will try to slip under siding or shutters, or go through vents and windows to find shelter. After hiding out in our houses for the winter, they get active again as the weather warms up and begin looking for a way to get outside to feed and mate. Each female will lay enough eggs to make another 400 stink bugs. Stink bugs can be pest to farmers or gardeners because they insert their sucking mouth parts into tender fruit, causing ugly scarring called “cat facing”. They are can also be a pest because if you aggravate or kill them they will produce a long-lasting foul smell, hence their stink bug name. Their stink is produced by scent glands that go into action when the bug is squashed or merely annoyed. Their population is rapidly growing in the United States mainly due to the fact that there aren’t any predators here that will eat them. A few species of birds in the states will go after these stink bugs, but their natural predators are left back in Asia. So, entomologists have begun to study some Asian parasitic wasps that might make good candidates for biological controls for the stink bugs in the states. This article can relate to our course because it is describing an introduced specie. I can connect to this article because I hate these bugs, mainly because they are everywhere and once I get rid of one I find another in a matter of seconds. I find the fact that entomologists are trying to bring these wasps to counter out these stink bugs very interesting and could be a good thing, but it may also be a bad thing if these wasps become the next pest.
Reference
Frank D. Roylance (2010, May 09). Asian
In the article “Asian stink bugs are here” it describes introduced specie called the stink bug that has invaded Maryland. The brown stink bug is an invasive insect species from Asia, and was first reported in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1998. They are an insect that comes out in the autumn, but during the winter season they will try to slip under siding or shutters, or go through vents and windows to find shelter. After hiding out in our houses for the winter, they get active again as the weather warms up and begin looking for a way to get outside to feed and mate. Each female will lay enough eggs to make another 400 stink bugs. Stink bugs can be pest to farmers or gardeners because they insert their sucking mouth parts into tender fruit, causing ugly scarring called “cat facing”. They are can also be a pest because if you aggravate or kill them they will produce a long-lasting foul smell, hence their stink bug name. Their stink is produced by scent glands that go into action when the bug is squashed or merely annoyed. Their population is rapidly growing in the United States mainly due to the fact that there aren’t any predators here that will eat them. A few species of birds in the states will go after these stink bugs, but their natural predators are left back in Asia. So, entomologists have begun to study some Asian parasitic wasps that might make good candidates for biological controls for the stink bugs in the states. This article can relate to our course because it is describing an introduced specie. I can connect to this article because I hate these bugs, mainly because they are everywhere and once I get rid of one I find another in a matter of seconds. I find the fact that entomologists are trying to bring these wasps to counter out these stink bugs very interesting and could be a good thing, but it may also be a bad thing if these wasps become the next pest.
Reference
Frank D. Roylance (2010, May 09). Asian