Adults prefer to infest 8- to 10-inch soybeans at field edge
Kudzu bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts
Kudzu bugs feed on stems and leaves, not pods
Feeding induces stress on soybeans
Creates brown lesions on stems
Reduces pods per plant
Reduces seeds per pod
Reduces seed size
"Honeydew" excretions cause sooty mold on leaves
Hundreds of adults and nymphs may occur on a single soybean plant
Large populations cause "green stem syndrome" and delay soybean maturity
Average soybean yield loss of 18% (range 0 to 47%) was measured in Georgia and South Carolina
Adults will fly from early-maturity to late-maturity soybeans in late summer
Adult kudzu bugs
Pest Status and Importance
Pest Status and Importance
Can be an economic pest of soybean in Georgia and South Carolina and possibly neighboring states
Soybean yield losses average 18% in Georgia and South Carolina
Expected to spread into many areas where kudzu grows
Pest Facts
Pest Facts of the Kudzu Bug
Common names: kudzu bug, bean plataspid
Latin name: Megacopta cribraria, family Plataspidae
Description
Adults are shiny, 3.5 to 6 mm (< ¼ inch) long, brown to olive green in color with lighter freckled spots; eyes are red; tail end is broadly rounded
Produces a mildly offensive odor when disturbed
Nymphs are greenish brown with long hairs
Adult kudzu bug
Similar species:
Adult stink bugs are > 3/8" with pointed posterior
Origin and distribution:
Native to eastern Asia and India
Invasive pest species in the U.S.
First detected in Hoschton, Ga. in October, 2009
In 2011, found in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia
Life History
Life History of Kudzu bug
Adults become active in February in Georgia
Reproduces on kudzu and soybean
Adults known to fly 1½ miles from kudzu to soybean
Females lay 26 to 274 eggs
Development time from egg to adult is 24 to 56 days
Adult longevity in summer is 23 to 77 days
2 to 3 generations occur per year
Population peaks during September in Georgia
Adults are attracted to tall, light-colored surfaces such as houses
Adults are not attracted to lights
Adults overwinter in leaf litter and under bark
Kudzu bug nymph (photo above)
Kudzu bug eggs (photo above)
Brown stem lesions caused by kudzu bugs - (photo above)
Integrated Pest Management Practices
IPM Practices
Planting
The southeastern U.S. is where soybeans are most likely to have economic damage
Soybeans do not have to be adjacent to kudzu to be infested
Insecticide seed treatments
Efficacy of seed treatments on early-season populations is unknown
Scouting
Action threshold of “adults present and 1 nymph per sweep” has been suggested by university entomologists to initiate insecticide sprays
Insecticides
Several – but not all – pyrethroids typically provide better efficacy than organophosphates
Contact your state extension entomologist for a list of recommended insecticides
Photos and Text Marlin E. Rice, Pioneer Hi-Bred International
Reviewed by G. David Buntin and Phillip M. Roberts (University of Georgia), and Herb Eichenseer (Pioneer)