Even when I use Lannate (Methomyl) - a RUP, against the BMSBs it was a hard year to beat the darn things. However, our pears were huge and tasty, if marred.
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I’m glad most of my stink bug problems come from green stinkbugs which seemed to be deterred adequately with Assail or Asana. Still, I hate having to do additional insecticide sprays in the summer. Most insect issues here in S. NY can be dealt with during spring. Asian pears aren’t important enough to me to be worth the effort of extending my insecticide spray season. I only have one tree. However, they are a popular nursery tree with people from sweet fruit cultures tending to absolutely adore them.
I used to love them, but somehow have lost my taste for them.
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Was testing your theory on stink bug problems related to rot, when they feed, how numerous they are, the worst types etc. Rot on Korean Giant pears. Decided i could sacrifice some Korean Giant pears for the cause. Look who i caught in the act just after dark. Note the previous stink bug damage. They are feeding much heavier after dark as you said they would be.
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If you take those pics and replace them with bees, I could say me too. I lost most of my crops this year to insects. Pretty bad year in that regard. That’s where I think the asian pear has the advantage over the euro. Asian can still be eaten while the euro will not ripen properly after bug damage.
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Those are squash stinkers, right? I get them here also and find them building up in my vegetable garden. They even damage a lot of my peppers and congregate like that on squash. I do see them on fruit including Asian pears but not at that density. Yuck? I hate stink bugs.
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@alan
The stink bugs come in the fall by the thousands. The brown marmorated stink bugs numbers are much higher than the green. Take a look at the identification Brown marmorated stink bug - Wikipedia they are the bad ones in this area.
" The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys ) is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, Korea and other Asian regions.[2] In September 1998 it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced.[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.[5] In 2010, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, $37 million in apple crops were lost, and some stone fruit growers lost more than 90% of their crops.[6] It is now established in many parts of North America, and has recently become established in Europe and South America.[7]"
The green stink bug does not have the excessive numbers that the brown one does green stink bug - Chinavia halaris (Say)
If you look at this chart and website it explains more Extensive Research Devoted To Understanding Brown Marmorated Stink Bug's Behavior | Wisconsin Public Radio
This bug is not easily controlled but this is some of the ways they try.
They are becoming a huge problem in other parts of the world
Its important to know stink bugs not only eat fruit but also vegetables and grains. Those stink bugs didnt all come from my orchard they can move miles in a day. The other crops are harvested which is why my fruit orchard is targeted so heavily this time of year. The large number have been building all year and reach the heaviest population right now. The damaged fruit is indicative of the terrible stink bug pest we are dealing with here earlier in the year as well. Maybe @LarryGene might know more about the difference in the brown stink bug and the brown marmorated stink bug. There are many unanswered questions like why do these pests prefer Korean Giant pears when given a choice? They are not on my other pears in those numbers they like that pear for a reason not easily understood.
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Yours didn’t look marmorated or marbled. Photographs are often misleading.
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Yes they dont look that way but im not sure if they are or not. I went down the list spot on back, multicolor around bottom of the back. Their coming in excess numbers which im not sure regular stink bugs do or dont. The green ones do not have large numbers like these.
I’ve seen green stink bugs in great numbers, especially when they are small, but they are green when mature. What I’ve always called squash stink bugs are not marbled and look a lot like the photos, but I’m not saying they aren’t BMS at all. BMS are surprisingly large, as I remember. I haven’t seen them for a while. For a few years they would congregate in my house during winter but they have died back up here. They were only a big problem in orchards I manage in one area for one season.
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Found a new tree had set fruit which was heavily damaged. Forgot about this tree until today. Today is October 15th. This fruit is not ripe in a 3/4 full sun location. This fruit was damaged so bad by stink bugs its unusable for anything but pear nector which we dont need. Through these on the ground for deer, possums, racoons or turtles to eat going into winter. Coyotes are even very hungry this year.
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Wow, wonder why that particular tree’s pears got so much damage? Do you think it was because of later ripening time?
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Didn’t get many of these pears this year, but the few I’ve had had been excellent again.
This one was huge!
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Here it is Nov. 5th in zone 6a and I picked a small Olympic Giant Pear today (sorry no pic). Only a few more left on the tree, but it’s amazing that we still have fruit this time of year.
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We all really like the taste of Korean Giant. It’s a small thing but I wish some of the fruit would ripen later like so many of you in colder locations.
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