Factors affecting flight capacity of brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) is a highly destructive invasive pest of annual and perennial crops in the eastern United States and is an increasing threat to agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. Flight mills were used to examine flight capacity of H. halys in order to better understand its invasive characteristics. Specifically, we examined generational, sexual, and phenotypical effects on flight distance, frequency, velocity, and diel flight patterns of field-collected H. halys from two seasons. There was a clear dichotomy in total flight distance for insects that flew 5 km or less and those that flew more than 5 km in 24 h. The tendency for long distance flight of H. halys changed over the course of a given season, peaking at the end of the growing season. Summer generation H. halys flew farther and faster than overwintered adults, but not as frequently. Males and females had similar numbers of flights, but females went farther. Pre-flight weight of insects was correlated flight activity of adults in terms of speed, frequency, and distance. Overwintered H. halys lost a greater proportion of their pre-flight body weight during the assay than did the summer generation adults. Despite many limitations extrapolating flight mill data to the field, this study nonetheless provided evidence that H. halys has the capacity for long distance flight, particularly in the summer generation. The nutritional status and fat reserves of overwintered versus summer generation adults are discussed as potential explanations for the flight patterns found in this study.