Brown Marmorated Stink Bug---New Vineyard Pest

At our recent Connecticut Master Gardener Hot Topics seminar, one of the new pests spotted in the state is the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug or Halyomorpha hayls (Stål). The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug can be distinguished from other stink bugs by its speckled appearance, white stripe on the antennae and the black and white banding on its abdomen. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug feeds on a wide range of fruits and vegetables beginning in late May and early June.¹

An excellent seminar given by Tracy C. Leskey from the USDA-ARS can be found here: Sudden Emergence of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha hayls (Stål), as a Serious Agricultural Pest in the Mid-Atlantic.
The seminar takes approximately 80 minutes to view. It is a narrated slidedeck with embedded videos and very worthwhile to view.
How Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs can affect grapes and wine: The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has a long stylet which it uses to pierce the grape. The juice from the grape can ooze out leading to infection by bacteria and fungi causing rot. During the question and answer portion of the seminar, Tracy mentioned that there was an occurrence of a winegrower who had to throw out his wine due to stinkbug taint. When they went back to determine how many stinkbugs it took to have a discernible taint, it was found that as little as 10 stinkbugs found in one lug contributed to the stinkbug taint in the juice.
A printable poster identifying the key features of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB), as well as look alikes can be found here: INHS UIUC Stink Bug Poster

1. How to Identify the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug