Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Recently, our house has had an influx of stinkbugs due to the cold weather approaching. They'd invaded our house before that, and then there was a break, but now they're back.

So I got to thinking: Is there a way to attract stinkbugs (kind of like the Beetle-Bag traps for Japanese beetles)? I was discussing it with my mom, and she mentioned since the females are attracted to the 'male scent,' I could somehow extract the chemical present in the male pheromone, use High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to identify the chemical components, and develop a device to attract, trap, and contain stinkbugs (most likely females, because they are the ones that would be attracted to the scent).

If you have any insight on this project, I'd love to hear it! The stinkbugs in my area are not indigenous; rather, they are a species from Asia and have started to take over because they have no natural predators. As far as I know (and my AP Biology and Environmental Science teachers have also stated this), stinkbugs are not part of the diets of most birds in this area.

I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul09/bug0709.htm
This article is informative. The suggestion my mom gave me (involving the pheromone, etc.) is exactly what the article discusses!

Hi ScienceChild,

I'm glad to see that you are already finding some information!

There is a professor of entomology (insect science) who has created a stink bug trap in Florida: http://ufinsect.ifas.ufl.edu/stink_bugs/stink_bugs.htm. The site gives descriptions of how he built the trap, and does say that he baited it with pheromone. You might be able to contact the professor, let him know that you are a science fair student, and ask what materials you can use to bait your own traps. The professor's faculty website is: http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/contact/RussellMizell.shtml

I also found out that the "stink" smell from the stink bug comes from aldehydes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentatomoidea). One interesting experiment you could do is see whether different aldehydes attract your stink bugs better. Common (nicer-smelling) odors like vanilla, cinnamon, and almond are all aldehydes. You can buy the extracts at the grocery store, and see whether different aldehydes work better to attract your stink bugs.

Let us know if you have more questions as you work on your project!

Cheers,
Heather

Thank you, that is all really helpful! If you happen to come across anything else, I'd love to hear about it. I will keep you posted as well; I'm still juggling this project idea and another project idea, but hopefully I'll be making the official decision soon of which one I will carry out & take to Science Fair.