Stinky Kudzu Bug Invades South | Invasive Species & Biocontrol | LiveScience
Kudzu bugs, which feed on the infamous vine, showed up in Georgia in 2009.
CREDIT: D. Suiter, Univ. Georgia
As if kudzu, the invasive "vine that ate the South," weren't trouble enough, one of its little friends from Asia has joined it in the United States
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The kudzu bug, known formally as Megacopta cribraria, is a type of stinkbug that feeds the kudzu vine in its native Asia. While the invading vine is its favorite meal, the bug also attacks soybeans, and as it spreads from Georgia to neighboring states, there are fears it will broaden its palate and target other legume crops, including peanuts.
Kudzu was brought to the East Coast more than a century ago to control erosion. Its quick growth wreaked havoc on the ecosystem: It smothers and strangles other plants, uproots trees and breaks branches with its weight. The bug appears to [...]
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