Monday, December 24, 2007
COLUMBUS (AP) — A thumbnail-size insect that apparently hitched a ride aboard shipping containers to the United States more than a decade ago has become the latest invasive species to arrive in the state, and researchers are trying to determine how big a threat the bug poses to fruit and soybean crops.
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was officially identified in Allentown, Pa., in 1998 and has since spread through Mid-Atlantic states, from New York to Virginia.
When threatened, they emit a pungent odor from glands in the thorax. The stink seems to discourage some potential predators, such as birds.
They also like to gather in large numbers inside attics and walls of peoples’ homes once the weather turns cold. And if the insect becomes established, it can enter homes by the thousands.