248 Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)
2017). The first individual found in Russia occurred in 2014 when three nymphs were collected on Rosa
spp. and Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) in Sochi which is part of the Krasnodar region (Mityushev 2016).
Since then brown marmorated stink bug has become established in Sochi and has spread to Abkhazia
and Georgia (Gapon 2016). The first record in Switzerland, in the heart of the continent and not at a
trans-shipment center or within a shipping container, indicates airplanes and air cargo as the first intro-
duction pathway. The vectors to Europe most likely are ornamental plants or fruits (Wermelinger et al.
2008) and the species, therefore, was introduced as a contaminant with these vectors or as a stowaway
with packing materials. In the latter case, the autumnal shelter seeking behavior appears as a predeter-
mined ultimate catalyst of such translocations. The species also was intercepted during phytosanitary
border controls (e.g., 2011 in Bremerhaven, Germany, in shipments of machine parts from the United
States [Freers 2012]). The utilization of these pathways may support additional influx of the species into
Europe from different origins.
The spread of distance records of Halyomorpha halys across wide geographical areas within
Switzerland, and even more so within Europe, exceeds the expected rather low natural dispersal capac-
ity and indicates that secondary translocations through human activities (movement of ornamentals or
goods; translocation along roads or railway networks) or repeated independent introductions are likely.
Currently available genetic data suggest a mixed origin of the European populations and indicate a need
for more sampling and haplotype identification within the native and introduced (North America) ranges
(Cesari et al. 2015; Gariepy et al. 2014b, 2015).
4.3.3 North America
It is believed that the first sighting of Halyomorpha halys in North America occurred in fall 1996 on
Adams Island (Allentown), Pennsylvania, but was not confirmed until 2001 when two specimens were
sent to Richard Hoebeke for identification (Hoebeke and Carter 2003, Leskey and Nielsen 2018). An
additional specimen was collected from a blacklight trap maintain by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Vegetable IPM program at a farm in Milltown, New Jersey, in 1999 (Hamilton 2009). It initially was
misidentified as Euschistus servus (Say). Following this, H. halys rapidly spread to other parts of the
United States and by 2004 had been found in large areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, northern
Delaware, and parts of Maryland and West Virginia (Figure 4.3) (Leskey and Hamilton 2010a,b). In
2009, populations in the east exploded and received a great deal of press interest and popular pressure.
By this time, the bug had been detected and/or become established in 17 additional states including
California, Oregon, North Carolina and Virginia (Leskey and Hamilton 2011). Two years later it had
been detected in 17 more states (Leskey and Hamilton 2011, Leskey et al. 2012a, Rice et al. 2014). Today,
H. halys has been detected in over 41 states and the District of Columbia (Leskey and Hamilton 2015).
The occurrence of Halyomorpha halys in North America is not limited to the United States.
Specimens have been intercepted at Canadian ports since 1993 with the first official report coming
1996
1999
2003
2004
2005
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011FIGURE 4.3 (See color insert.) Distribution of Halyomorpha halys in the United States, 1996-2011.