Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Primocane-bearing Raspberries in Southwestern Virginia

Abstract Raspberries (Rubus species) are widely grown in Virginia, and stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) have become significant pests of this crop in recent years. To understand which species are attacking the crop, we sampled a well-established primocane-bearing raspberry planting near Blacksburg, VA in 2008 - 2009 and in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Altogether, 16 species of stink bugs were found on the raspberries. The brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), was consistently a major species through 2012. The invasive species, Halyomorpha halys (Stal), was not found on the raspberries in 2008 or 2009, but was detected in 2011 and 2012, and became the most abundant stink bug species on these plantings in 2013. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index and Shannon's equitability in 2012/2013 were higher than in 2008/2009. The increase in diversity and equitability revealed that H. halys may be displacing E. servus populations in Virginia raspberry plantings. Similar trends have occurred on other crops in the MidA...