By Linda Geist
Stink bugs are an all-too-familiar foe for Missouri soybean growers, but new University of Missouri research shows just how widespread they are, and how farmers can better time and target their scouting.
In a statewide study spanning the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons, University of Missouri researchers used sweep nets to survey 316 commercial soybean fields, collecting more than 2,700 stink bugs representing nine species. The study, led by MU Extension entomologist Ivair Valmorbida, was published in the journal Environmental Entomology.
“These results provide the first comprehensive, statewide assessment of stink bug community and spatial distribution in Missouri soybeans that can be used to improve scouting timing and management decisions,” says Valmorbida.
One species dominates
One species rules the field. The green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris) accounted for more than 80% of all stink bugs collected. Other species included the one-spotted stink bug (10.55%) and brown stink bug (5.89%). Each of the remaining species made up less than 1% of the total.
Two other stink bugs have been detected in Missouri soybeans over the past 25 years: the red-banded stink bug and the brown marmorated stink bug, with the latter detected in the present study.
Edges tell the story
Populations of green stink bugs were significantly higher along field edges than in field interiors. Stink bugs typically move into soybean fields from nearby wooded areas, crop residue and other protected habitats before spreading inward.
Source : missouri.edu