About Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood, 1837)
Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood, 1837) is a species of stink bug in the family Pentatomidae. Its most common general name is red-banded stink bug, and it also goes by the other common names small green stink bug and alfalfa bug. This species is neotropical, with a geographic distribution that extends from Argentina north to the southern United States. In the southern United States, red-banded stink bugs are frequent pests of soybeans. Soybean growers use a variety of chemical options to control this pest, but red-banded stink bugs are less susceptible to insecticides than other common stink bug species. Insecticides applied to control red-banded stink bug, which are often applied late in the growing season, are usually broad-spectrum chemicals. Alternative control options for this soybean pest are needed, including environmentally friendly, commercially available biological control options such as the fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana. A wide range of management techniques are currently available for managing and controlling this pest.
