Natural Areas Give Stink Bug Enemies Places To Hide

The brown marmorated stink bug from Asia began invading the United States in the 1990s. It is now found in 44 states. It feeds on fruits and leaves of valuable crops, causing significant crop loss due to disfiguring. Scientists have been studying ways to control the pest, and they have found it in the form of another alien insect invader - the samurai wasp.

Samurai wasps are from the same region of Asia as the stink bugs, and are the stink bugs' natural enemies. They lay their eggs in stink bug eggs. This prevents the stink bug eggs from hatching. 

It appears that samurai wasp populations increase when natural areas around the margins of croplands are allowed to proliferate, thus providing hiding places for the wasps to hide. The wasps are also better served when pesticide use is limited.

This is an excellent example of biological pest control. Read more about it at Phys.org news.

The principle described here likely applies to other insect pest management issues. Think how it might apply to controlling the pests in your garden.