Characterizing the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Three Native Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) across an Agricultural Landscape

Abstract

Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are polyphagous pests that cause significant economic losses to a variety of crops. Although many species have been documented to aggregate within agricultural fields, much less is known regarding the timing and distribution of adults and nymphs within and between surrounding non-crop habitat. Therefore, we explored the spatiotemporal distribution of Euschistus servus (Say), Euschistus tristigmus (Say), and Chinavia hilaris (Say), three species of North American origin, and examined whether distribution patterns varied between species according to habitat. Stink bugs were monitored weekly for three years within an 18 km2 grid of pheromone-baited traps. We tested whether habitat affected distribution patterns, used spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE) to identify aggregations, and visualized distributions with interpolated maps. Overall, E. servus adults were captured in crops, whereas E. tristigmus adults and nymphs were mainly captured in forests. Accordingly, distribution patterns of E. tristigmus were relatively stable over time, whereas aggregations of adult E. servus varied over space, and the timing of aggregations reflected the phenology of major crops. Chinavia hilaris was most often captured in forest, followed by crop habitat. Pest management strategies for stink bugs may require an area-based management approach that accounts for movement in agricultural fields and surrounding habitat.