Last week a grower called to let us know that reporting of a shield bug from his home garden via the Biosecurity New Zealand online reporting form had a reply back to them within 30 minutes with the following message.

“Fortunately, the bug spotted is not Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) but a local species, the brown shield bug. It is present in Australia and New Zealand. It has a huge host range and though not as common as the green vegetable bug, it is a minor pest of some crops.

If you are interested, you can see some further information and images of the bug at this information page put together by Landcare Research/Manaaki Whenua.”

It’s great to hear stories of industry using the range of reporting tools available and supporting identification by providing a good set of photos – see the ones taken in this case here.