The question of what do stink bugs eat is a fascinatingly curious one.
Ever since this particular species of insect first arrived on the shores of the United States a couple of decades ago, many entomologists have been scrambling to gather as much information and learn as much as possible about them. Their numbers have grown exponentially over the course of this time.
Having first been identified in Allentown Pennsylvania and now having spread to well over 38 states nationwide, even the federal government, through the auspices of both the USDA (United States Department Of Agriculture) and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), has now taken it upon itself to divert some of our tax dollars toward finding a solution to this troublesome stink bug epidemic, before things get blown completely out of control. And believe it or not, an investigation as to what constitutes the typical diet of stink bugs is a critical one.
Why Does It Matter To Us?
Why does it matter what do stink bugs eat? Why would the government want to spend our hard-earned tax dollars on something that is better off being privately funded for entomological research at universities? The answer is quite simple: There is the old saying that knowledge is power. By arming ourselves with as much information as possible about what makes stink bugs tick, we will be able to devise more effective strategies on how to quell their population growth and exterminate them in the most expeditious manner possible. While we are a far cry from a total mass extinction of bug race, we can do whatever is within our technological means to keep their population in check.
Stink Bugs Are Vegans
Having said all of this, the answer to the question as to what do stink bugs eat has been determined to be, without a doubt, a steady diet that consists one hundred percent of fruits and vegetables. They don’t feed on wheat. They don’t feed on meat. They don’t feed on grain, rice, leaves, or grass. They don’t even suck on the blood from other animals the way some other insects do. They are, for all intents and purposes, one hundred percent pure vegans.
Where And How Do They Eat?
As for the question of where do stink bugs find their food, the simple answer is that stink bugs are notorious both here in the United States as well as in southeast Asia, for congregating en masse in farming fields where crops of fruits and / or vegetables are being grown and harvested.
What these bugs will do is pierce the outer skin of any particular fruit or vegetable and suck out the juice from that fruit. (So perhaps it could more appropriate to say that stink bugs don’t eat fruits and vegetables. They drink the juice that gets squeezed out from that particular piece of produce.
And once a stink bug does that to a piece of fruit, that piece of fruit is no longer safe nor is it appetizing to consume anymore. There will be unsightly holes in the skin of the apple, plus it will show signs of serious discoloration. That particular fruit item will have been destroyed and will be unsalable on the market, for all intents and purposes.
The Threat To Agriculture
Believe it or not, this tendency of stink bugs to raid produce crops on farms has become a serious problem, that has elevated itself to the level of a crisis that must be dealt with. Stink bugs have caused millions of dollars worth of damage to farmer crops across the country.
And therefore, the United States federal government has made it a top priority to identify the means how to deal with the threat of stink bugs and thus either minimize or eliminate the damage being done to the US economy and food supply as a result of their eating habits.
Your Tax Dollars At Work
So next time you file your federal income taxes, let’s take a moment to appreciate the fact that Uncle Sam, in his infinite wisdom, is spending some of your tax dollars to figure out what do stink bugs eat, in an effort to use that information against them (eg – by setting up traps laden with fruit to lure, capture, and exterminate them).