Nezara viridula ( L .) 365
In several instances, determinations of occurrence were based on identification of a single insect
for each location (New York, Torre-Bueno 1912; Maryland, Aldrich 1990; New Mexico, Bundy 2012;
Delaware and New Jersey, Discover Life 2015; Pennsylvania [Donald B. Thomas, personal communica-
tion]), or a single insect in 2–3 localities within the state (Arizona, Donald B. Thomas, personal com-
munication; Oklahoma, Richard A. Grantham, personal communication; NAPIS 2015); the Oklahoma
occurrence was reported as an invasive in 1974 (Mulder 2015).
Confirmation of reproductive field populations throughout the distribution range is difficult because
of anecdotal records (i.e., reports without, or with minimal, supporting data) (the southwestern United
States and Mexico, Morrill 1910; Arizona and New Mexico, Jones 1918; Kentucky, Weeks et al. 2012;
Ohio, Capinera 2001; Virginia, Van Duzee 1904, Kirkaldy 1909, Hoffman 1971, Froeschner 1988;
West Virginia, Weeks et al. 2012) or conflicting reports regarding the species’ presence or absence in
a given locale (e.g., presence or absence in Virginia [Batra et al. 1981, Froeschner 1988, Kamminga
et al. 2009]).
In addition to conflicting reports, the confined regional occurrences and annual population fluctua-
tions can affect detection of the species’ presence. Missouri and Tennessee are included in the distribu-
tion map, but these are states where species occurrence can be sporadic, in smaller population densities,
and in more limited agricultural ecosystems (Bailey 2009; Scott Stewart, personal communication). In
Missouri, Marston et al. (1979) reported that Nezara viridula had not been collected during 1972 and
- However, 30 years later, Bailey (2009) noted that it occurred in southern and southeastern coun-
ties. When present in Tennessee, the species occurs primarily in the southwestern region of the state
(Scott Stewart, personal communication). Finally, during a 2-year field survey of stink bug species in
the Brazos River Bottom of Central Texas, Suh et al. (2013) did not collect N. viridula despite the spe-
cies having been present in previous consecutive years (Lopez et al. 2014). Within this same production
region, N. viridula adults also were collected from native vegetation and in light traps during 2015–2017
(Jesus F. Esquivel, unpublished data). Similarly, Jones and Sullivan (1983) observed a complete absence
of N. viridula field populations following a severe winter freeze in South Carolina.
Distribution of Nezara viridula spans Mexico (Discover Life 2015), from the western state of Sonora
(Gibson and Carrillo S. 1959) to the Yucatán Peninsula (Rodríguez Rivera 1975). This species has been
collected in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León,
Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, State of México, Tamaulipas, Veracruz,
and Yucatán (Gibson and Carrillo S. 1959, Rodríguez Vélez 1974, Cancino and Blanco 2002, Ruiz et al.
2006, Discover Life 2015). Thus, in total, N. viridula occurs in at least 16 (of the 31) Mexican states.
Similar to the United States, N. viridula occurs in slightly more than half of the Mexican States.
To date, Nezara viridula has not been reported in Alaska and, because of the climate, any occurrence
would presumably be due to human intervention, adventitious occurrence, or as transients in shipping as
observed in Canada (Maw et al. 2000, Paiero et al. 2013). In Canada, Maw et al. (2000) indicated detec-
tion of N. viridula in Ontario and Quebec but these were transient occurrences through detection at ports
of entry, not detection of reproducing field populations.
7.3.4 Caribbean (West Indies), Central America, and South America
The region is comprised of about 32 countries and 20 overseas or dependent countries/territories/
departments. The geographical limits of these countries/ territories are enclosed between latitude
27°12’N (the Bahamas) and 56°32’S (Chile) and longitude 109°26’W (Easter Island, Chile) and 28°50’W
(Martim Vaz Archipelago, Brazil).
Nezara viridula is considered widely distributed in this region (e.g., Todd 1989, Panizzi 1997) but
has not been reported for all localities (Figure 7.6). It has been recorded from 19 countries and two
territories/departments with Cuba as the northernmost limit and Argentina as the southernmost limit
(Table 7. 3). The range limit is restricted only in the south, with records occurring above latitude 40°S;
the northern limit is continuous with the North American distribution. Central and South American
localities not cited in the distribution range by DeWitt and Godfrey (1972) are Belize, Ecuador, and
Guyana (Discover Life 2015), including a recent colonization of the Gálapagos Islands (Henry and
Wilson 2004), and Central Argentina south to Buenos Aires (Figure 7.6). Although these latter