Biosecurity New Zealand has launched its winter campaign to help raise awareness of a particularly unwanted pest – the brown marmorated stink bug, or BMSB (pictured above).
This bug poses a major threat to New Zealand’s horticulture industry, with the potential to cost the country nearly $4 billion if it established here, says Biosecurity New Zealand’s manager of readiness, Dr Cath Duthie.
“There is always the chance the unwanted pest could arrive in parcels and with other imported items. We very much want the public to help us with our surveillance efforts.”
The BMSB winter campaign focuses on showing people how to correctly identify BMSB and report it. BMSB looks like some other bug species but has elements that make it identifiable, including white stripes or banding on its antennae and abdomen. Continue reading
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