Asian Stink Bug Makes U.S. Debut

Washington Post
Monday, October 15, 2001; Page A14

Rob Stein and Guy Gugliotta

The Asian stink bug, a major nuisance to farmers in Japan and an annoyance to everyone else, has been found in the United States for the first time.

The insect, known more formally as the brown marmorated stink bug, has been identified in trees and in houses in Allentown, Pa., by Cornell University entomologist E. Richard Hoebeke, the university announced last week.

Hoebeke speculated that the insects arrived in Allentown in bulk freight containers from Asia and gravitated into homes because of the cooling weather. "Imagine hundreds of them inside your house. There is no insecticide to get rid of them. The only thing you can do is sweep them up and throw them back outdoors. And even after that, they want to come inside again where it is warm," Hoebeke said.

The Lehigh County, Pa., Cooperative Extension office has been inundated with calls from homeowners. "A lot of people have called because they really hate it," said Karen Bernhard, an extension office entomologist.

The three-quarter-inch-long, brown and marble-like insects get their name from glands on their abdomen and under their wings that discharge an unpleasant scent when they are disturbed. The insects can threaten apples, pears, peaches, figs, mulberries, citrus, persimmon and soybeans. The insects, which can fly hundreds of yards at a time, will probably go dormant for the winter by November and emerge again in the spring to breed.