Phytophagous stink bugs comprise a complex of insect pests affecting row-crop, vegetable, tree fruit, and tree nut production in the southeastern USA. Common stink bugs in this geographic area include the brown stink bug, green stink bug, southern green stink bug, and dusky stink bug. These species overwinter as adults and then feed on a large number of non-cultivated and cultivated plant hosts throughout the spring and early summer. By late July and August, stink bugs can be found feeding and reproducing in row crops like cotton and soybeans. This research project was designed to document where stink bugs were commonly found throughout the year and where they may be overwintering. A regular grid of sample locations (~500 feet apart) was overlaid ona contiguous 402-acre farmscape in southern Georgia comprised of cotton, grain sorghum, peanut/pecan, soybean, and watermelon. Sample locations were sampled weekly for stink bugs using a sweep net from mid June through early November. The study site included two pecans orchards, one regularly mowed and one not mowed until harvest time. Results show that stink bugs were commonly captured in field margins early in the year, in row crops like cotton and peanuts during the summer, and in late planted soybean and grain sorghum from mid September through mid October. Throughout the entire year, stink bugs were commonly captured in the pecan orchard that was not mowed.
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