Stink bug damage has only recently been considered a serious problem in cotton production. For many decades, stink bugs were coincidentally controlled by insecticide applications made for the boll weevil and the tobacco budworm/bollworm complex. With the combination of boll weevil eradication programs, use of selective insecticides that have little to no effect on piercing/sucking insects, and wider adoption of Bt cotton cultivars, stink bugs have been allowed to establish themselves as annual mid- to late-season cotton pests.

A survey was conducted to determine the species composition, relative distribution, and seasonal abundance of stink bug species infesting cotton in the lower Gulf Coast of Texas. Results indicate the stink bug complex in Lower Texas Gulf Coast cotton to be different than that of other states. Data suggest the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and a complex of smaller Euschistus species, including E. quadrator (Rolston) and E. obscurus (Palisot), to be the dominant pests, along with some populations of southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), and green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say).

A boll cage study was conducted to determine the virulence of E. servus and E. quadrator, including boll susceptibility, amount of boll damage, and overall yield/quality loss. Results indicated both species caused significant boll damage, but E. servus caused more yield and quality loss than E. quadrator and was able to damage larger bolls.

Studies were conducted to compare insecticide efficacy against E. servus and E. quadrator adults in cotton. Results indicated mortality of both species was greatest when exposed to Bidrin 8 EC (0.5 aia) as compared to the other insecticides. Euschistus quadrator were generally more susceptible to pyrethroids than E. servus, and Bifenthrin 2 EC (0.1 aia), Mustang Max 0.8 EC (0.0225 aia), and Prolex 1.25 EC (0.02 aia) caused the greatest mortality of the pyrethroids tested. Exposure to neonicotinoids resulted in low mortality of both species.

The Lower Texas Gulf Coast has a stink bug complex that differs somewhat from other areas of the Cotton Belt. While there is a difference in virulence between E. servus and E. quadrator, these data do not play a very important role in commercial management of stink bugs when sampling is conducted using evidence of internal feeding. These thresholds are based on the amount of damage that is present in the bolls, so, regardless of the species causing the damage, if a specific level of damage is reached, treatment is required. Bidrin will control the Euschistus species, but pyrethroids may have differing results. The important thing is to establish what species are present in order to determine which pesticide will be most efficacious due to differential stink bug toxicities.