Charles, thank you for your report of Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs last week. I will inform the staff of the Oregon Department of Agriculture that you claim to have found and disposed of several of these insects. Is there any chance you have a specimen?

An invasive exotic insect pest new to the Pacific Northwest, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys(Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), was recently found in Oregon. A single specimen was collected in the fall of 2004 in samples from a woodboring insect trap placed in the Laddʼs Addition neighborhood of Portland. Since only one specimen was found, despite a search of the vicinity by ODA staff, it is unknown whether BMSB is truly established in Oregon.

BMSB is an Asian insect known from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It was first found in the United States in 2001. Before the Portland specimen was found, it was only known in the U.S. from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia. It is not known how this pest was introduced into the U.S., although it may have hitchhiked on cargo or cargo containers from Asia.

BMSB is considered a major agricultural pest in Asia, where it attacks and damages a wide variety of crops, including apples, pears, peaches, citrus, persimmon, and soy beans. Some Pennsylvania organic farmers have already experienced heavy damage to their fruit harvest by this invasive insect. Similar crops in the Pacific Northwest could be threatened by BMSB if it becomes established and widespread in the region.
Like several other insects in Oregon, such as box elder bugs and the Asian multicolored lady beetle, BMSB invades houses in the fall and early winter seeking shelter for the winter. Where BMSB has become established, it can enter homes by the hundreds and thousands, which can be very disturbing to the residents. These bugs are harmless to people, although as the name suggests, they can release an unpleasant odor when disturbed.

During the fall and early winter, BMSB could be found on the outsides of buildings or inside near doors and windowsills. There are several native stinkbugs that closely resemble BMSB. Rough stink bugs, Brochymena quadripustulata and its relatives, can be quite commonly encountered. Adult rough stink bugs can be easily distinguished from adult BMSB. Rough stink bugs have distinct teeth on the edges of the thorax (just behind the head) and all the antennal segments are one color. BMSB have no teeth on the edges of the thorax and the last two antennal segments have white bands.

It would be very helpful if you can provide a specimen for verification.

Lisa DeBruyckere
Oct. 7, 2009, 1:32 p.m.