ABSTRACT

Management of destructive stink bugs (Pentatomidae) in cotton has become a necessity in recent years. Reasons for that need are due principally to an overall decline in broad-spectrum insecticide use. Factors involved with that reduction include successful eradication of the boll weevil, increasing use of Bt cotton, a shift to target-specific insecticides, and a greater reliance on beneficial arthropods, to name just an important few. Potentially, other factors such as weather and fluctuating natural cycles for insects in general could also be contributing to the changes we have experienced with the "shifting" pest spectrum. Although those factors are beyond our control, future man-made modifications such as second generation Bt cottons will further drive the shift from that of "worm control" to "true bug control". Stink bugs will continue to be of great concern in that environment and will most likely be the key pest group in most cotton production systems. Predominant phytophagous (plant-feeding) stink bugs in the Southeast and much of the Mid-South are similar and include the green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say), the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), and the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say). Several other species are part of the plant-feeding stink bug complex but are of less importance. During the last several years, continued investigations into laboratory bioassays (efficacy of new chemistries compared with those of established materials), field efficacy trials, sampling methods, and threshold development have produced valuable data concerning management of stink bugs in cotton.