August has shaped up as an explosive month for the redbanded stink bug, a difficult-to-control and highly damaging pest in soybean, prompting organization of the Ark-La-Miss Emergency Forum on Redbanded Stink Bugs, set for Aug. 17 at the Capps Center in Stoneville, Miss.

The forum begins at 2 p.m. There’s no cost to attend and the event will be live steamed and recorded for those who cannot make it to Stoneville. For information, contact the Delta Research and Extension Center at 662-686-3214.

To access the live stream of the forum, go to https://www.uaex.edu/live/. During the forum, participants may text their questions to 662-394-1919.

“The situation is pretty serious in Mississippi right now. They have thousands and thousands of acres that are being treated for redband and they’re having trouble getting them all treated with all the rain showers,” said Gus Lorenz, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The redbanded stink bugs “are spending too much time in the field. What we know about this pest, based on experience, is that the longer they’re out in the field, the more damage they can do,” he said. “Timely control is extremely important for this pest.”

Lorenz said the forum would be a chance for entomologists in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi to share and review what’s known about this stink bug. While Arkansas has done some trials, “only LSU has any appreciable data on this pest,” he said.

In Arkansas, the pest is present in the southern part of the state as far north as Marianna. “They’ve moving into Arkansas full force,” Lorenz said and growers need to know what to do with the redbanded stink bug since they are so different than our resident stink bugs.”

The forum will feature researchers, Extension, and consultants from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi who will share data and experiences managing redbanded stink bug in soybean.

“We have had well over 150 calls this week alone on insecticide efficacy, thresholds, and insecticide termination,” Angus Cachot, extension Entomologist for Mississippi State, wrote in a blog post Saturday. “With any new pest that has such high damage potential and changes traditional management considerations, naturally there are lots of questions being asked from areas of Mississippi and Arkansas where this pest has not commonly occurred.”

For more information about the redbanded stink bug, download Biology, Identification and Management of the Redbanded Stink Bug, https://www.uaex.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-7078.pdf.