Preempting the Arrival of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys: Biological Control Options for Australia
by
, and
Valerie Caron
1,*
,
Tania Yonow
1,
Cate Paull
2,
Elijah J. Talamas
3, 
Gonzalo A. Avila
4 and
Kim A. Hoelmer
5
1
CSIRO, Health and Biosecurity, Black Mountain, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
2
CSIRO, Agriculture and Food, Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia
3
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA
4
The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Auckland 1025, New Zealand
5
USDA, Agriculture Research Service, Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, Newark, DE 19713, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2021, 12(7), 581; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12070581
Submission received: 22 March 2021
/
Revised: 2 June 2021
/
Accepted: 21 June 2021
/
Published: 28 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Control of Halyomorpha halys with Special Emphasis on Parasitoids)
Simple Summary
The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorphahalys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is native to Northeast Asia, but has become a serious invasive species in North America and Europe, causing major economic damage to crops. Halyomorphahalys has not established itself in Australia, but it has been intercepted several times at the border, therefore future incursions and establishment are likely. There are few control options for this species and biological control may be a useful management method in Australia. This study summarizes the literature on natural enemies of H. halys in its native and invaded ranges and prioritizes potential biological control agents that could be suitable for use in Australia. The results show two egg parasitoid species as the best candidates: Trissolcusjaponicus (Ashmead) and Trissolcusmitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). Because T. mitsukurii is already present in Australia, it offers the possibility of biological control that can be implemented rapidly.
Abstract
The brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorphahalys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is native to Northeast Asia, but has become a serious invasive species in North America and Europe, causing major damage to crops. While it has not established itself in Australia, it has been intercepted at the border several times, indicating that future incursions and establishment are a case of when, not if. Biological control is one of the few control options for this species and will be important for managing H.halys should it become established in Australia. Prioritizing species that could be used as biological control agents would ensure Australia is prepared. This study summarizes the literature on natural enemies of H. halys in its native and invaded ranges and prioritizes potential biological control agents of H.halys that could be used in Australia. Two egg parasitoid species were identified: Trissolcusjaponicus (Ashmead) and Trissolcusmitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). Future efforts to develop biological control should focus on T. mitsukurii, as it is already present in Australia. However, little is known about this species and further work is required to: (1) assess its potential effectiveness in parasitizing H. halys, (2) determine its current distribution and (3) host range in Australia.
