Biocontrol defence against BMSB: last chance to have your say

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) is one of the biggest biosecurity threats we face and it could cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. If an incursion is found here the consequences would be disastrous for New Zealand’s horticultural industries.

The Samurai Wasp (which is the size of a pinhead and doesn’t sting humans or animals) provides an opportunity to be proactive in our approach and gives us another tool we can use to control BMSB.

Image to the right of a male Samurai Wasp (scale 0.5mm), courtesy of Jo Poulton, Plant and Food Research.

KVH, other horticultural groups and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), have made an application to the Enviornmental Protection Authority (EPA) seeking approval to release the wasp as a biocontrol agent against BMSB, but only if an incursion is found in New Zealand.

The EPA is currently seeking public opinion on the application and you have until 5pm Thursday 31 May 2018 to make a submission.

KVH is making a submission on behalf of the kiwifruit industry and your views count too. We encourage growers to have a say and we can make available to you a copy of the KVH submission that you may wish to reference content from when making your own submission to the EPA (or use the template we've created to help with this).

If you have any questions you can email us at [email protected] or phone us on 0800 665 825.