The expanding impact of pentatomoid bugs: drivers, challenges, and innovations in Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Abstract

Stink bugs (Pentatomidae) and related species of pentatomoids (Scutelleridae and Tessaratomidae) are known to
damage crops as either major or minor pests. For various reasons, their negative impacts have recently grown worldwide. This increasing importance of stink bugs is due to a myriad of reasons, especially the overuse of insecticides, the increase in global temperatures, the diversification of agriculture (“green-bridge”), and the international trades of agricultural goods.
Although farmers continue to spray a range of traditional insecticides, the global negative side effects of their overuse demand better sustainable management. Among the appropriate tools available, biological control using egg parasitoids has the greatest potential for further development in the majority of regions. In addition, the adoption of semiochemicals, insecticides from botanical sources, genetic manipulations (e.g., RNAi and CRISPR), and genetically modified biological control agents should be major components of stink bug management in the future, supported by monitoring and forecasting (e.g., adoption of trapping or satellite image analysis). This integrated approach will ensure efficient sustainable stink bug management that balances economic viability and ecological health.