YOUR LEVY AT WORK
Brown marmorated stink bug interceptions down The exotic brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a hitchhiker pest that poses a serious threat to many horticultural crops in New Zealand. By Anna Rathé BMSB likes to overwinter in confined, dark spaces such as under tree bark, in buildings, vehicles, stacks of cardboard — almost anywhere! This means it can inadvertently be transported to new countries with a wide variety of imported goods and makes risk profiling very difficult. There have been significant efforts to keep BMSB out of New Zealand, which have proven successful to date. The last stink bug season (September 2019 to April 2020) saw a marked decrease in interceptions of live BMSB, bucking the trend seen in previous years (see Figure 1 ). There are a range of factors that are likely to have contributed to the successful season:
1
Strict biosecurity requirements for imported cargo Biosecurity New Zealand have introduced mandatory offshore treatment requirements to ensure high-risk goods from countries with established BMSB populations arrive clean. The import rules target vehicles, machinery, and parts from 33 identified risk countries, and all sea containers from Italy during the stink bug season. Biosecurity New Zealand approved systems for new and used vehicles from Japan have also been successful in reducing BMSB finds via the imported vehicles pathway. Quick and decisive responses to high risk BMSB vessels and cargo have meant that New Zealand shipping, importer and logistics industries take new requirements very seriously.
Live BMSB intercepted at the New Zealand border
Number of live bugs
200
150
100
50
0
2016-2017
2017-2018
2018-2019
Risk season (September – March)
Figure 1: Risk season interceptions of live BMSB at the New Zealand border over the past four years
20
The ORCHARDIST : AUGUST 2020
2019-2020
