Watch a hot off the press video from Italy to get an insight into the work being undertaken to study and learn about the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB).

Professor Max Suckling from Plant and Food Research and the Unversity of Auckland is working with local colleagues in Italy, where this pest is going through an outbreak affecting kiwifruit, apples, pears, corn and other crops.

As you can see in the video the group are studying a range of interesting things about BMSB, including sound communication (these bugs use low frequency sound to communicate with each other, which the team are trying to redirect and use against the bugs to disrupt mating, in a similar concept to how pheromone traps work for other pests), sterile insect techniques for control, behaviour at different life stages, and how the public can get involved in mapping location and numbers of the bug using cell phone apps.

The damage Professor Suckling talks about this bug doing to the wide range of crops it affects is a reminder of why we must continue to do all we can to keep it out of New Zealand. Read more about BMSB on the KVH website.