Measuring host plant selection and retention of Halyomorpha halys by a trap crop

Trap cropping may exploit a pest's dispersal and host selection behavior in order to protect a desired crop. Here, we used a combination of visual sampling, immunomarking, and harmonic radar to assess host plant selection and retention time of the highly mobile and invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), as it moves within and between a polyculture trap crop of sorghum and sunflower, and a bell pepper cash crop. Visual sampling demonstrated no significant differences in H.halys densities across crops, whereas dislodging stink bugs to collect for protein analysis revealed ca. 4x more bugs in the trap crop plants than in the peppers. In total 145 H.halys were collected and of these 6% were doubly marked with proteins, demonstrating that minimal movement occurred between the two planting systems. Tracking tagged H.halys with harmonic radar revealed that the trap crop retained adult H.halys within the plots 1.5x longer and reduced their movement by nearly half compared with bugs released in the pepper cash crop. The data suggest the trap crop of sunflower plus sorghum has the potential to attract and arrest the invasive H.halys, demonstrating that trap cropping may operate as an effective management tool.