Wanted: Stink Bugs

Researchers at Plant and Food Te Puke want your stink bugs! If you find stink bugs such as the Green Vegetable Bug (Nezara viridula) as pictured, please collect them. These can be found found year-round in New Zealand gardens. In orchards stink bugs are often found on fruiting weeds such as black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), in the sward, shelterbelts and gully margins, and even on vines. They can produce a significant odour when disturbed. The Green Vegetable Bug offers valuable insights for scientists who are able to use it as a stand-in for the highly-problematic Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB). The BMSB is not present in New Zealand but is a major biosecurity threat. Aleise Puketapu from Plant and Food Research says: “Our research is in preparation for a likely incursion of BMSB in New Zealand. BMSB poses a real threat to the country and to the kiwifruit industry so we all need to be on our toes”. If you can supply stink bugs or would like more information about them, please contact Aleise on [email protected] or (07) 928 9827. If you think you have encountered a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, contact MPI urgently on 0800 80 99 66.