[MAIPC] brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), American chestnut update

[Stephen L. Young]

Check the StopBMSB website (http://www.stopbmsb.org/) for information.
This is part of a large national effort to manage it.
Steve





On 10/14/15, 11:21 AM, "MAIPC on behalf of Richard Gardner"
<maipc-bounces at lists.maipc.org on behalf of rtgardner3 at yahoo.com> wrote:

>  We live about 30 minutes from ground zero for the brown mamorated stink
>bug.  Four years ago we were killing thousands of them.  Last year was
>down to hundreds.  This year is tens.  Until last night when I saw one
>dying ventral side up, I thought it was a mixture of my diligence in
>killing them and native birds adapting to a new food source similar to
>one they already had, native stink bugs.
>
>  As expected but much faster than expected it appears that a disease is
>wiping them out.  My guess is that the disease adapted or evolved from
>native stink bugs.  I can send samples or better yet, someone can come
>here to northern Berks County, PA and collect them.  I can probably
>arrange for people to visit a couple other homes if they want more
>samples than I can provide from our home.
>
>  My hope is now that this is happening no one begins trying to introduce
>a biocontrol for this insect as I fear the inevitable consequences to
>native stink bugs and similar insects from such an action.  There was
>some damage to the vegetables we grew this summer, peppers, tomatoes and
>green beans.  However, the damage was at a level we can easily live with.
>
>
>  On another front, it appears that the limiting factor for American
>Chestnut reproduction is direct sunlight on their branches.  I have
>literally catalogued thousands of these trees this year.  This fall as I
>checked out groves and other trees in other places I found in the spring
>the trees with direct sunlight on their branches were the ones that
>reproduced.  Branches without direct sunlight did not have flowers or
>burrs.  The key to burrs opening appears to be moisture from rain.  (I
>have a several bags full right now soaking.)  The heavy gypsy moth
>infestation this year in the Hawk Mountain area may help American
>chestnut trees break though the canopy as the heaviest moth damage
>appeared to be in the canopy.  If so there may be a large harvest of
>American chestnuts next year or the year after.
>
>  Disease does not appear to affect whether a tree produces seeds even
>though it may limit seed size and number of burrs produced.  We have burr
>producing trees about a 40 minute walk in from the SGL110 parking lot on
>Rt. 183 which are at least 30 feet tall with lesions, some with two sets
>of lesions on the same trunk.  Or goal is to plant the seeds we collected
>to see how many generations of reproducing trees we can get.
>
>                                                            Walk more and
>tinker less,
>
>                  
>                    Richard Gardner
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