Pictures of chickens, flowers, wheat, a boy looking through a magnifying glass, irrigation pipe, soybean pods, and fruits and vegetables.

Cooperative Extension Service

Search | Publications | Jobs | Personnel Directory | Links
County Offices | Departments

About Us

Find Us

For the Media

Agriculture

Aquaculture
       & Fisheries
Beef
Beekeeping
Corn
Cotton
Dairy
Forage/Pasture
Forestry
Grain Sorghum
Horses
Horticulture
      Commercial
Poultry
Rice
Soybean
Specialty Agriculture
Swine
Wheat

Links
Newsletters

Business & Communities

Families & Consumers

Health & Nutrition

Home & Garden

Natural Resources

4-H Youth Development

Public Policy Center

For Faculty & Staff

Giving

Dale Bumpers College
of Agricultural, Food &
Life Sciences

Division Home

Agricultural Experiment
      Station Home

Cooperative Extension
      Service Home

Insect Management
Cotton Insect Management
Stink Bugs - Various Species

Description

The three main species of stink bugs on cotton are the green stink bug, southern green stink bug, and  brown stink bug. Stink bugs are shield shaped, about 5/8 of an inch long, and have sucking mouthparts. The southern green stink bug adult is green in color, and the nymphal stage has white spots on the back or abdomen. The green stink bug is also green but the nymphal stage has a striped abdomen. The brown stink bug is brown and closely resembles another predaceous stink bug, the spined soldier bug (a beneficial insect). They can be distinguished one from another by the very sharply pointed "shoulders" on the spined soldier bug. Stink bug eggs are barrel-shaped and are deposited in a cluster on foliage.  See the following publication concerning identification of common stink bugs in Arkansas:  Identification Guide for Common Stink Bugs in Arkansas

Biology

Stink bugs overwinter in a variety of habitats such as leaf litter, tree holes, fields, and other areas. Other host plants include sowthistle, wheat, vetch, peppergrass, soybean, cowpeas, and wild radish. The egg stage lasts about 4 days; the nymph stage lasts about 33 days; and the adult stage lasts about 58 days.

Damage

Stink bugs damage cotton by sucking sap from squares and bolls. Affected bolls have a small sunken black spot on the outside. Internal evidence of feeding may be seen when bolls are opened by hand and lint/seeds/carpel walls are examined for signs of feeding injury. The seeds and lint usually turn brown as a result of stink bug feeding. Often, wart-like callus growths are present on carpel walls, marking the feeding wounds and plant's response to injury.

Scouting

When stink bug damage or stink bugs are seen while scouting, check infested areas with a beat sheet by shaking plants and reporting the number of stink bugs found per 6-row feet. Medium-sized bolls can also be checked for symptoms of internal feeding injury. See the latest copy of MP-144 for additional sampling and control tactics.

Back to Cotton Insect Management

© 2006
University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture
All rights reserved.
Last Date Modified 02/02/2012
Webmaster

University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
2301 South University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204 • USA
Phone (501) 671-2000 • Fax (501) 671-2209
 

Mission • Disclaimer • EEO •
Privacy • FOI