742 Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)
16.3.1.2.2 Sound Waves
There is a plethora of sonic devices available that claim to deter or control animals. Research on devices
that use sound waves as animal deterrents usually end with summaries that report poor performance
or inconclusive effectiveness of tested gadgets (Bomford and O’Brien 1990). However, some potential
utility has been observed with radio frequency (RF) and microwave energy (MW) in controlling pests
of stored nuts (Wang and Tang 2001). The problems with using those energy waves are high costs, unde-
sirable damage caused by heating to stored products, and non-uniform control of pests. Nelson (1996)
provided a review of RF and MW energy for control of insects in stored grain, but the costs of alternative
control measures using radiation were high compared with chemical control (Halverson et al. 1996).
Early tests of sonic devices marketed for control of household insects, such as cockroaches, indicated
that efficacy was very poor (Gold et al. 1984), and more recent reviews have reached the same conclu-
sions about sonic pest repellents (Aflitto and DeGomez 2014). In a study testing sound repellency of
Helicoverpa zea, high-frequency sounds did not repel this insect in sweet corn (Shorey et al. 1972). Most
methods using sound waves are not effective in repelling or controlling insect pests, and some ultrasonic
devices actually attract insects, such as mosquitoes (Andrade and Cabrini 2010). Additionally, ultrasonic
waves do not penetrate into substrates making control negligible in complex field situations.
16.3.1.2.3 Radiation: Visible, Ultraviolet, Ionizing
Insects are greatly affected by light in its various forms. Photoperiod, the relative length of light and
dark periods in a single day, determines when many insects prepare physiologically for overwintering in
autumn or leaving overwintering sites in the spring. The simple pattern of sunlight presence or absence
during the year has a dramatic and important impact on insect biology. Increasing amounts of sunlight
during long summer days with much more light than dark generally trigger reproduction. Conversely,
decreasing day length will eventually reach a critical threshold when newly emerged adults do not repro-
duce but rather accumulate fat bodies to survive during diapause. In a review of the impact of climate
change on heteropterans, Musolin (2007) reported on the continuing evolution of the true bugs in the con-
text of fluctuating ecological parameters. As global temperatures increase, insect geographic ranges may
also shift resulting in exposure to different photoperiods. These photoperiodic cues can cause behavioral
changes that are favorable or unfavorable to the species. Diapause in adults of the southern green stink
bug, Nezara viridula (L.), is controlled primarily by a long-day photoperiodic response, and short-day
conditions trigger a color change associated with induction of diapause (Harris et al. 1984, Musolin and
Numata 2003) (see Chapter 11 for further discussion of diapause). Clearly, light is important to insects
in general, and to stink bugs specifically, and knowledge of how critical light is to insects has resulted in
research to use light to manage insects (Ben-Yakir et al. 2012).
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and colors in the visible spectrum can effect insect behavior. UV has been
used for decades to attract insects to light traps (Frost 1957, Harding et al. 1966, Hendricks et al. 1975).
Other specific wavelengths of light, such as yellow light, in the form of sticky cards, direct illumination,
and other forms, have been used to count, control, or alter the behavior of insects (Shimoda and Honda
2013). When insects are attracted and move to light, the behavior is termed positive phototaxis; when
light repels insects, the behavior is termed negative phototaxis (Jander 1963, Coombe 1981, Menzel and
Greggers 1985, Reisenman et al. 1998, Kim et al. 2013). Negative phototaxis has been demonstrated with
light reflected off mulching films on the ground between soybean rows, thereby delaying colonization of
aphids (Kimura 1982), and the same has been observed with aphids, thrips, and whiteflies in tomatoes
(Csizinszky et al. 1995). Other reflective ground surfaces have been used to prevent invasions of thrips
and whiteflies in other crops (Nagatuka 2000, Simmons et al. 2010).
In addition to visible and UV light, other forms of electromagnetic radiation have been used in attempts
to physically control insects. Historically, the most recognized example of this control involved signifi-
cant reductions in reproductive potential of the screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (also
see Section 16.3.1.3.1.3, Sterile-Insect Technique below), by release of millions of male flies sterilized
by irradiation (Knipling 1955, Baumhover et al. 1955). Because a C. hominivorax female only mates
once during her lifetime, copulation with a sterile male eliminates her reproductive potential. Use
of this technique allowed researchers to eradicate this important lifestock pest from the southeastern