To raise awareness among the general population and agricultural producers, the team of researchers from Portuguese Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra FLOWer Lab (Centre for Functional Ecology) is developing an awareness campaign on the problem of this pest.


The researchers also call for the participation of all citizens, as part of an inclusive and citizen science approach, through sharing in the Facebook group ‘Asian Bed Bugs (Halyomorpha halys) PT’, or via e-mail (h.halys.i9k@gmail.com), of photographs of possible sightings of the insect.


Native to West Asia, the BMSB was accidentally introduced to the American continent (in the USA in 2001 and Chile in 2017) and the European continent (Switzerland in 2004), and has expanded its distribution from these points of introduction, with 22 countries already invaded.


The establishment of another agricultural pest in Portugal, especially a puncturing-sucking insect capable of feeding on more than 300 species of plants in their different structures (fruits and leaves) including numerous plants of agricultural interest, could have very negative effects on agriculture, the FLOWer Lab researcher João Loureiro said.


Losses at this level may reach 90 percent of production and crops such as tomatoes, maize, pears, grapes and oranges, which are relevant in the Portuguese context, could be severely affected, without an effective form of control, he added.


In terms of public health, the search for insects, namely inside houses, for the diapause phase (hibernation) during the cold months (December to March), leads to a high concentration of organisms – of thousands of insects - aggravated by the release of harmful odours when disturbed, Loureiro said.


Hugo Gaspar, also a researcher at FLOWer Lab, who is responsible for the production of promotional materials and the identification of suspicious sightings, observes that the favourable climate in Portugal, the rapid progression observed and the agricultural and public health damage and the intersection observed in Portugal at the beginning of the year, make it imperative to bring the issue to the public to avoid the silent expansion of the bug.