Integrating preventive strategies and biological control to combat the brown marmorated stink bug

H. halys, a phytophagous pest originating in East Asia, is causing significant economic damage to crops such as apple, pear, peach, soybean and corn, and environmental and social damages. The control means tested so far have shown limited efficacy and application problems. The spread of T. japonicus, a parasitoid native to the areas of origin of H. halys, seems to be a way to restore an acceptable balance. The aim of the project is to identify effective strategies for the containment of the stink bug, to broaden the knowledge of the insect and its ecological dynamics and to systematise the information collected to formulate possible scenarios/predictive models on its management in Emilia Romagna, IT.