Remember to have your say on the stink bug slayer

KVH, other horticultural groups and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), are working together to use a tiny parasitoid wasp to combat the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB).

Together – as the BMSB Council – we have made an application to the Enviornmental Protection Authority (EPA) seeking approval to release the Samurai Wasp as a biocontrol agent against BMSB, but only if an incursion is found in New Zealand.

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

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 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.

The EPA is currently seeking public opinion on the application. 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).

Submissions are due in to the EPA by 5pm on Thursday 24 May 2018.

If you have any questions about the application process or the KVH submission please contact us, we are happy to discuss them both with you as you formulate your own submission. You can email us at [email protected] or phone us on 0800 665 825.