396 Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)
Howard 1893a,b; Jones 1918; Drake 1920). In these instances, identification of plants was more general
(e.g., “mustard” [Hubbard 1885]; “bean” [Jones 1918]; “cockspur weed” [Drake 1920]; and “thistles”
[Hoffmann 1935]), and, thus, only the genus is presented to reflect these reported occurrences.
The numbers of plant taxa associated with Nezara viridula in North America are presented in
Tables 7.4 and 7.5. These lists include 12 newly reported species upon which N. viridula was detected
in Texas (Esquivel 2016a). Forty-three families have been reported overall in North America (Tables 7.4
and 7. 5). Six plant families comprise 59.90% of plant taxa (n = 197) associated with N. viridula (Table
- 5). Of these overall plant taxa, the Fabaceae are preferred, representing 24.87% of associated plants,
followed by the Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae, and Cucurbitaceae. Thirty-seven addi-
tional families represent the remaining 40.10% of families reported (Table 7. 5).
Within the identified families, 158 associated plants were identified to species level in their original
reports for regions of North America (Table 7. 5). Additionally, 39 plants were identified only to genus;
these included cases where only the common names of the plants were reported, and we assigned these
common names to appropriate genera. Thus, in total, 197 plant taxa have been identified to date. The
numbers of identified families and species in North America are similar to those previously reported
in Japan where Kiritani et al. (1965), citing Oho and Kiritani (1960), indicated “as many as 145 species
belonging to 32 families serve as the host plants of this insect.” These data clearly reflect the polypha-
gous nature of N. viridula. Further emphasizing the opportunistic polyphagous nature, a fifth instar
was observed for approximately 10 minutes with stylets inserted, and actively moving, in the stem of a
banana (Musaceae; Musa sp. – and not included within Tables 7.4 and 7.5), the insect only withdraw-
ing stylets after repeated probing with forceps by the observer (Jesus F. Esquivel, personal observation).
Identification of associated plants does not guarantee that the plants will be utilized throughout its
entire distribution (Panizzi and Slansky 1991, Panizzi 1997). Panizzi and Slansky (1991) observed
Nezara viridula on Desmodium tortuosum (Sw. DC.) in Florida, yet they indicated that Jones (1979)
“never found them on D. tortuosum” in South Carolina. This could be attributed to asynchrony of pest
and host plant within and between geographic locations and other biotic/abiotic factors (Panizzi 1997).
In addition to known foraging and reproductive resources, Tables 7. 4 and 7. 5 include plant taxa that
Nezara viridula has used as overwintering resources [i.e., Beta vulgaris L., Juniperus sp., Pinus taeda
L., Thuja sp., Tillandsia usneoides (L.) L.]. Although Kirkaldy (1909) and Hoffmann (1935) appear to
be worldwide listings of “foodplants,” their reports typically included plant species that also occurred
in North America [e.g., Amaranthus hypochondriacus (L.) and Phaseolus lunatus L. in Table 7. 4] and
were denoted as such. Therefore, these plant taxa were included in this report. Finally, McPherson and
McPherson (2000) reviewed the extant literature and summarized major crops and wild plants attacked
by N. viridula and other stink bug species, in America north of Mexico. Descriptions of damage by
N. viridula in each crop also were provided. DeWitt and Godfrey (1972) and Panizzi (1997) present
exhaustive listings of host plant-related literature worldwide, in some instances reiterating the host plant
species from earlier reports. Thus, references cited in Table 7. 4 are only representative reports for each
of the associated plant species in North America. For a more comprehensive summary of publications
addressing plants associated with N. viridula outside of North America, the reader is encouraged to
review references within Dewitt and Godfrey (1972), Panizzi and Slansky (1985), Velasco and Walter
(1992), Panizzi (1997), McPherson and McPherson (2000), and Smaniotto and Panizzi (2015).
7.4.6 Movement among Hosts at Farmscape and Landscape Levels
Stink bugs, including Nezara viridula, feed on a wide range of host plants as described in Section
- 5, but prefer to utilize hosts that are actively producing seeds or fruit. Because stink bugs are active
throughout the warmer parts of the year, they must rely on a variety of overlapping host plants that occur
in a dynamic ecosystem. As soon as the host begins to senesce or is mowed, the bugs will disperse to a
new host that is just starting to produce seeds or fruit. Bundy and McPherson (2000b) demonstrated this
host plant movement for stink bugs, primarily N. viridula, in a soybean-cotton ecosystem. The bugs were
first attracted to the early-maturing soybean cultivar and remained there until the plants began to mature.
Then, they moved into the later-maturing cultivar as pods were filling with seeds and finally into con-
ventional and transgenic cotton (i.e., Bt-cotton = cotton containing the toxin Bacillus thuringiensis [Bt]
- 5, but prefer to utilize hosts that are actively producing seeds or fruit. Because stink bugs are active