Daily Archives: September 27, 2012

Stink Bum

Halyomorpha halys (Brown Marmorated Stink Bug)

Halyomorpha halys (Brown Marmorated Stink Bug)

Over the last several years this has to have become everyone’s least favorite insect around here. The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is a serious pest, even for those of us not trying to grow crops. This is the direction most of want to see them going (i.e. away from us) but mostly we like to see them dead.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s pernicious book, Silent Spring, which was in large part responsible for bans on use of DDT. As we now know, her book was very poor science and the benefits from responsible use of DDT far outweigh the costs. We can only hope that restrictions on its use can be eased and the poorest countries of the world, those that need it most, can benefit from it’s wonderful bug killing and disease preventing properties.

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