Subject: eggs and babies
Location: Columbus, Ohio
June 17, 2013 5:06 am
Hi! I am hoping you can help me identify what I found on the underside of a peach tree leaf. I’ve never gotten peaches off the tree thanks to squirrels and am wondering if these bugs are horning in on the animals territory.
Signature: David
Hi David,
These are newly hatched Hemipterans, and we believe they are Stink Bugs in the family Pentatomidae. Further research indicates that they are most likely hatchlings of the invasive exotic Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys. See this matching image on Featured Creatures where it states: “The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys Stål, is a pest that was first officially reported from the western hemisphere in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2001 (Hoebeke and Carter 2003). This stink bug may become a major agricultural pest in North America, similar to the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.). Both species are polyphagous pests of various crops, but in the U.S. it has been primarily reported as a household nuisance and ornamental pest. However, in eastern Asia where the BMSB is native or indigenous, it is a pest on fruit trees and soybeans.”
Thank you for letting me know–and so quickly too! This is a different stink bug than I have encountered before. I will have to get more vigilant now.
Thank you!
David
Thank you. Have been wondering what these are. These have been showing up all over the place here in central SC.