A huge wave of stink bugs is about to hit Hungary

As of now, stink bugs came out only in the evenings, when the lights are turned on, but 24.hu reports that more and more of them are appearing in Hungary. The invasive, alien stink bugs are spreading in the country in ever-growing numbers, and they are unstoppable.

In recent years, one could encounter stink bugs in the fall season, when the bugs were looking for refuge in houses and flats from the cold winter. There is one kind that is causing a lot of headaches, the marmorated stink bug. The big, brown bug is native to Asia, buzzes loudly when flying, and if you happen to catch it, it will release a stinking excretion.

This is only the beginning

Thanks to the climate change, environmental pollution and the invasive species, the current states that we define as ‘extremities’, will become soon regular. This is the case in the fight against the stink bugs. The invasive insects are ahead of their schedule: they are flying into homes already in August, off-season.

At this time, they are not looking for corners where they’d be protected from the cold, but they are rather attracted to artificial light after sundown. The refuge-seeking wave begins with the first fall cold, as it was in the recent years. However, instead of the huge stink bug wave of October, we get a dose of them in August.

If you notice that there is an accumulated number of stink bugs present in your area, you might expect an even bigger wave of stink bugs there, as the population has grown. So says the expert, Dr. Gábor Vétek, who is an adjunct professor at the Department of Entomology at Szent István University’s Faculty of Horticultural Science.

A hard fight

Note that the previous was an assumption, as there is a lack of scientific analysis into the living habits of the Asian marmorated stink bug in Hungary. It is hard to tell exactly in what measure will the stink bugs ‘invade’ the country.

The fully grown insect lives a long life, so in some seasons it is impossible to tell which generation a respective bug belongs to. Their life spans are affected by the weather and the region’s climate. In Italy, in one year even two generations can come to life, but in Switzerland only one. Unfortunately, we might fall into the previous category, but the research is still ongoing to provide facts.

The stink bug can spread into several territories over the years, as it does not differentiate between food plants.