STINK BUG DISTRIBUTION BASED ON BLACK LIGHT TRAP CAPTURES ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA IN RELATION TO SURRO

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STINK BUG DISTRIBUTION BASED ON BLACK LIGHT TRAP
CAPTURES ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA IN RELATION TO
SURROUNDING AGRICULTURAL HOST PLANT RATIOS

• Eric Blinka, Jack Bacheler, J.R. Bradley, and
  John Van Duyn
• North Carolina State University, Raleigh

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INTRODUCTION

• Stink bugs continue to increase pest status due
  to reduction in synthetic insecticide usage.
• Stink bug populations are able to flourish and
  exploit many crops.
• Minimal information is available on the ecology
  and movement of stink bugs within agricultural
  environments.

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INTRODUCTION

• Brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and
  green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say), are
  common to North Carolina.
• Artificial pheromone has been developed for brown
  stink bug.

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INTRODUCTION

• Green stink bugs are readily attracted to black
  light traps.
• Black light traps are commonly used in North
  Carolina to monitor several insect pests.

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OBJECTIVE

• Determine whether black light trap captures of
  green stink bug are correlated with the ratios of
  surrounding agricultural crops.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

• Thirty-five black light traps in 2005 and 40 in
  2006 were distributed across agricultural
  production areas of North Carolina (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Black light trap distribution across
North Carolina in 2005.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS

• Black light traps were placed near field edges in
  early to mid-July and taken down near the end of
  August for an average of seven to eight weeks of
  sampling (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Black light placed next to a shed near
field edge.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS

• Traps were checked on an average of every two to
  three days and green stink bug numbers were
  determined.
• During the growing season, crop areas surrounding
  the black light traps were mapped and crop areas
  defined.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

• Aerial maps of the black light trap locations
  were obtained using the TerraServer web site.
• Aerial maps were then imported into ArcMap and
  surrounding fields were identified using the hand
  drawn maps.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

• A 366 meter buffer was established around the
  black light trap (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Aerial map depicting 366 meter crop
buffer surrounding black light trap.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS

• The acreage of each crop within the circle was
  determined.
• Data from the two years were pooled, log
  transformed, and analyzed using the Proc GLM
  procedure in SAS.

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1. Correlations between crops and green
stink bug light trap captures.
Significant at Plt0.05.
R2 Value 0.134504
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CONCLUSIONS

• All crops except Cotton and Trees were
  statistically significant contributors to the
  capture of green stink bug by light traps.
• Peanut and Pasture had a weak negative impact on
  the capture of green stink bugs by light traps.
• Corn, Cotton, Soybean, and Tobacco all had a
  weak positive impact on the capture of green
  stink bugs by light traps.

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CONCLUSIONS

• Despite the statistical significance and weak
  correlations, the R2 value suggest that there
  is too much unexplained variation for the light
  traps to be considered a reliable tool in
  determining green stink bug populations based
  upon surrounding crop ratios.

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CONCLUSIONS

• These results suggest that stink bugs are
  ambiguous in the environment and move frequently
  through the landscape continually searching for a
  suitable host.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Cotton Inc.
• North Carolina County Extension Agents
• North Carolina Producers
• Alan Stephenson

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QUESTIONS?