New bug eats kudzu, but it likes beans too
Published: August 19, 2010
An adult plataspid.
image by: Daniel R. Suiter/University of Georgia
CLEMSON — An undocumented alien has been located in South Carolina and Georgia, according to entomologists. An invasive insect is flourishing in fields and on houses and Clemson University researchers are asking for the public’s help in tracking the bean plataspid. It is the first plataspid (pronounced PLA-tas-pid) species reported in North America.
“The bean plataspid has been confirmed on soybeans and kudzu in more than a dozen counties, including Oconee, Anderson and Abbeville, and on soybeans in Barnwell County; but it will feed on legumes in general, so it could be on other hosts, and it might be present but yet-to-be-detected in other counties,” said Jeremy Greene, associate professor of entomology and Clemson University Extension specialist at the Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville.
While the good news is that bug feeds on kudzu, the significant concern is that it feeds on bean plants, notably soybeans, which are a multimillion-dollar commodity crop in South Carolina. The state has approximately 590,000 acres of soybeans with a gross value of $139 million.
“We are actively looking for this insect, and our S.C. Soybean Board has funded a portion of a project to help with the search for this pest,” said Greene. “If you see it in or around kudzu, in noticeable numbers on buildings, please let me know (greene4@clemson.edu or 803-300-1160). If you are able to provide GPS coordinates for kudzu patches in your area where you can sweep with a sweep net and confirm the presence or absence of this pest, your help will certainly be more than welcome. We want to define the distribution of this pest regularly this season and learn what we can about it.”
There are pesticides that can control the insect: organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides. The latter has better residual control, according to experts.
In the Far East the insect is considered a pest of economic importance. Its sucking mouthparts tap into the stalks of legumes — beans — and feed on the nutrients. Purportedly, plants can be weakened, causing wilt and lower yields. Athens, Ga., is thought to be where the insect took hold, but researchers don't know how it got there.
What the insect’s long-term impact will be remains uncertain, Greene said.
“The insects are described in the foreign literature as stem and leaf feeders, and that fits so far with our observations, but we have not seen them on beans with developed pods yet," he said.
The bean plataspid is also known as the globular stink bug and is a relative of stink bugs. Like its kin, when the plataspid is disturbed it secretes an unpleasant scent.
END
An undocumented alien has been located in South Carolina and Georgia, according to entomologists. Getting into the United States last year — researchers are unsure how — a new invasive insect is flourishing in fields and on houses. Clemson University researchers are asking for the public’s help in tracking the bean plataspid (pronounced PLA tas pid). It is the first plataspid species reported in North America.
“The bean plataspid has been confirmed on soybeans and kudzu in more than a dozen counties, including Oconee, Anderson, and Abbeville, but it will feed on legumes in general, so it could be on other hosts, and it might be present but yet to be detected in other counties,” said Jeremy Greene, associate professor of entomology and Clemson Extension Service insect specialist at Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville.
While the good news is that bug eats kudzu, the significant concern is that it feeds on bean plants, notably soybeans, which are a multimillion-dollar commodity crop in South Carolina. Approximately 590,000 acres of soybean are produced in South Carolina with a gross value of $139 million.
“We are actively looking for this insect, and our S.C. Soybean Board has funded a portion of a project to help with the search for this pest,” said Greene. “If you see it in or around kudzu, in noticeable numbers on buildings, or anywhere, please let me know quickly (greene4@clemson.edu or 803-300-1160). If you are able to provide GPS coordinates for kudzu patches in your area where you can sweep with a sweep net and confirm the presence or absence of this pest, your help will certainly be more than welcome. We want to detect this pest early this season and do what we can to prevent it from becoming a problem in soybeans.”
There are pesticides that can control the insect: organophosphate- and pyrethrine-based insecticides, with the second having better residual effect, according to experts.
In it’s native lands -- India and China — the insect is considered a pest of economic importance. Its biting, sucking mouth parts tap into the stalks of legumes — beans — and feed on the nutrients. Plants can be weakened, causing wilt and lower yields.
What the insect’s long-term impact will be remains uncertain, says Greene.
“The insects are described in the foreign literature as stem and leaf feeders, and that fits so far with our observations, but we have not seen them on beans with developed pods yet, said Greene.”
In 2009 Ga. Extension agents began hearing about an unusual insect. Commercial pest control companies received calls about hundreds of insects on houses. Specimens were sent to University of Georgia Homeowner Insect and Weed Diagnostics Laboratory. University of Georgia Extension Specialist Dan Suiter along with Joseph Eger of Dow AgroSciences identified the insect as the bean plataspid: Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae).
Athens, Ga., is thought where the insect took hold. It remains a mystery how it got there, according to researchers.
The bean plataspid is also known as the globular stink bug and is relative of stink bugs in the region. Like its kin, when the globular stink bug is disturbed it secretes an unpleasant scent -- that’s worth keeping mind if you dislodge them from homes and buildings.
