Thursday, September 10, 2015

Science Thursdays



Welcome to Science!
Today, I'll be telling you all about Science Thursdays. Every Thursday, I'll discuss my latest study, such as my project on...



That's right: Entomology! Today's topic is the brown marmorated stinkbug, or Halymorpha Halys.

I have chosen this topic because I enjoy working with insects. Also, we have had a few Halymorpha Halys joining us inside our house, so I decided to study them. Finally, I wanted to know if there was another way to remove them from our house besides crushing them and dealing with the resulting unpleasant odor.

They are native to China, Japan, and Taiwan, but were accidentally imported to Pennsylvania and Maryland. They first were noticed in 2003, and it was noted that they have a shield shape, grayish-brown speckling, wings, and are about 12mm-17mm in size. Females are larger than males and lay 20-30 eggs on the underside of a leaf at any 1 time, which hatch into wingless nymphs.


Today, I found a stinkbug on the window. This was a Halymorpha Halys, which we have been discussing above. However, I could not tell for certain if it was a male or a female, because I did not have a specimen to compare it to.

Before you go, DO NOT STEP ON A STINKBUG, because they will stink if you do. See you next time!

-Nick