Brown Stink Bug

Published: June 13, 2008

Brown Stinkbug Damage to Corn Seedlings. Many reports of damage to corn seedlings by stinkbugs have been received during the past 10 days. The brown stinkbug and the one spotted stinkbug (also brown in color) are the two main species of stinkbug which attack corn. Adults move to seedling corn fields from mid-May and early June to feed near the base of seedling corn plants. They feed by inserting their piercing-sucking mouthparts into stems and leaves and injecting juices to help digest plant tissue which is then sucked from the plant. The penetration of the mouthpart into the plant tissues may also result in damage to growing point of the corn plants. These types of damage result in plants which may quickly die, survive and be twisted and stunted, or be damaged and produce tillers. A good diagnostic characteristic of stink bug damage in corn is the presence of several oval holes located in a line across the corn leaves as they grow out of the whorl. These holes are often surrounded by a yellow edge or border and are the result of a puncture of the whorl by the stink bug mouthpart which is very characteristic of stink bug damage.