The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian regions.

[3] The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops,[4] and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States.

[6] As in all stink bugs, the glands that produce the defensive chemicals (the smell) are located on the underside of the thorax, between the first and second pair of legs.

"[5] The stink bug's ability to emit an odor through holes in its thorax is a defense mechanism evolved to prevent it from being eaten by birds and lizards.

This feeding results, in part, in the formation of dimpled or necrotic areas on the outer surface of fruits, leaf stippling, seed loss, and possible transmission of plant pathogens.

In the U.S., the brown marmorated stink bug feeds, beginning in late May or early June, on a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and other host plants including peaches, apples, green beans, soybeans, cherries, raspberries, and pears.

[citation needed] The brown marmorated stink bug was accidentally introduced into the United States from China or Japan.

This allowed the insect to enter the United States relatively easily, as they are able to survive long periods of time in hot or cold conditions.

It was quickly documented and established in many counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, and New York on the eastern coast of the United States.

[citation needed] The brown marmorated stink bug is a serious agricultural pest that has been readily causing damage to crops across the Eastern United States.

They feed on a wide array of plants including apples, apricots, Asian pears, cherries, corn, grapes, lima beans, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, and soybeans.

Control of stink bugs is a priority of the United States Department of Agriculture, which has developed an artificial pheromone which can be used to bait traps.

In the case of soybean infestations, spraying only the perimeter of a field may be the most effective method of preventing stinkbugs from damaging the crops.

Evidence also shows that stink bugs are developing a resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, a common chemical used to combat infestations.

[16] As of 2012[update], native predators such as wasps and birds were showing increased signs of feeding on the bugs as they adapt to the new food source.

It is similar in appearance to other native species of shield bug, including Acrosternum, Euschistus, and Podisus, except that several of the abdominal segments protrude from beneath the wings and are alternatively banded with black and white (visible along the edge of the bug even when wings are folded) and a white stripe or band on the next to last (fourth) antennal segment.

[37] The brown marmorated stink bug was likely first introduced to Europe during the repair work of the Chinese Garden in Zürich, Switzerland in the winter of 1998.

[42] The Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia announced from 2017 to distribute 3.5 million euros to offset the costs of the lost crops of the fruit farmers until 2020.

[47][48][49] The stink bug was traced to have been introduced to the Greater Caucasus area during the construction works of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where it was most likely imported with decorative building elements brought from Italy.

[52] In October of the same year, it was observed in Artvin Province[53][54] and the species has rapidly spread to other areas in Eastern Black Sea Region.

[60] In the United States, Europe, and New Zealand, Trissolcus japonicus is a focus of biological control programs against the brown marmorated stink bug.

[5][62] However, in 2014, two adventive populations were found in the United States during surveys to identify which North American parasitoids might be attacking brown marmorated stink bug.

[63][64] Subsequent genetic testing showed these wild populations were self-introduced: they were not related to each other, or to a laboratory strain being studied in quarantine.

[68] Several parasitoids and predators indigenous to North America and Europe have been reported to attack stink bug eggs, nymphs and adults.

[69][70] Researchers have also experimented with other predators like the spotted lady beetle, the spined soldier bug and the common green lacewing, whereby the latter consumed most of the eggs of these tested species.

They wait for winter to pass, but often the warmth inside the house causes them to become active, and they may fly clumsily around light fixtures.