First Report of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Associated with Cannabis sativa (Rosales: Cannabaceae) in the United States

Abstract

Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is a highly polyphagous pest in North America and Europe. Herein, we report our observations of this invasive stink bug on grain hemp (Cannabis sativa) in Virginia, which to our knowledge, is the first published report of H. halys associated with that crop. Effects of damage to hemp plants from this insect are unknown, so studies were initiated in 2018 to investigate further. Bugs were caged in varying densities for several weeks on seed heads of grain variety industrial hemp in field plots to document damage appearance and yield effects. Seeds were removed from plants in the laboratory, counted, and weighed to assess differences between treatments. In another study, bugs were reared on hemp seed heads in a lab setting from the second instar stage to adulthood. We found that bugs developed successfully to adulthood. Although further studies are needed, it appears that at this time, H. halys may not be a threat to yield and quality of industrial hemp.