Overview of the Superfamily Pentatomoidea 11
of its potential to injure crucifers. Today, it ranges in the continental United States primarily from New
England south to Florida and west to Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and California but occurs
primarily in the South (McPherson 1982). It is an established immigrant in Hawaii (Froeschner 1988).
1.9.1.5 Nezara viridula (L.), Southern Green Stink Bug
This species (Chapter 7) was described by Linnaeus as Cimex viridulus in 1758 from India (p. 444). It
subsequently was reported from other parts of Asia and Europe and the New World including the West
Indies, Jamaica, St. Domingo, Cuba, and Venezuela (DeWitt and Godfrey 1972). The earliest record
for the United States was by Distant (1880) (p. 78), who reported it from the southern states, including
Texas. Today, it occurs primarily from Virginia to Florida west to Texas and Oklahoma and also occurs in
California (McPherson and McPherson 2000) and Washington (see Chapter 7). It feeds on a wide vari-
ety of plants including soybeans, tomatoes, vegetables, row crops, cruciferous vegetation, and leguminous
weeds (McPherson and McPherson 2000).
1.9.1.6 Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), Redbanded Stink Bug
This species (Chapter 8) was described by Westwood as Rhaphigaster guildinii in 1837 from St. Vincent
Island (p. 31) and today ranges from the West Indies to South America and north to the southern United
States (Panizzi et al. 2000). The earliest records for the United States of which we are aware are southern
Florida (Uhler 1894) and New Mexico (Van Duzee 1904). This species previously was collected primar-
ily in Florida but now has extended its range to include South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico (Van Duzee 1904, McPherson and
McPherson 2000, Bundy 2012, Davis 2012, Temple et al. 2013, Vyavhare et al. 2014) (Bundy 2012
noted that the bug’s presence in New Mexico needs to be verified). It seems to prefer soybeans but will
attack many other plants such as alfalfa, clover, cotton, kidney bean, lentil, peanut, strawberry, and
others (McPherson and McPherson 2000, Panizzi et al. 2000). It has reached economic importance in
Louisiana and Texas (Temple et al. 2013, Vyavhare et al. 2014). The important question is why does it
now appear to be expanding its range and increasing in numbers in the southern states.
1.10 Potentially Invasive Pentatomoids
1.10.1 Oebalus spp.
The genus Oebalus Stål (1862) (Chapter 9) contains three species that occur in the United States includ-
ing O. pugnax ( F.), O. insularis Stål (1872), and O. ypsilongriseus (De Geer) (1773). Although O. pugnax
is widely distributed in the United States (Froeschner 1988), O. insularis and O. ypsilongriseus have
been recorded only from Florida. All three species are noted pests of rice.
1.10.2 Arvelius albopunctatus (De Geer), Tomato Stink Bug
This species occurs from South America north to Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the United States. It is
a pest of several economically important crops in Brazil and Mexico but has been reported to feed only
on solanaceous weeds in the United States.
1.10.3 Other Species
Recently, Panizzi (2015) authored a paper on the invasive species of the pentatomids in the United
States, which includes a section on species of potential invaders from the Neotropics. This list includes
the following five species, all of which are of major economic importance in South America: Dichelops