Shanovich, Hailey2019-12-112019-12-112019-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/208960University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. August 2019. Major: Entomology. Advisor: Robert Koch. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 76 pages.There are many serious pests of apple crops in the United States (US), making production challenging for growers. A recent invasive insect in the US, the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), has emerged as a serious pest of orchard crops with the highest economic losses to date occurring in the Mid-Atlantic region. Populations of H. halys are known to be increasing and spreading throughout the Midwest. If they continue to grow, the insect has potential to become a significant apple pest in the region. My research examined two areas to improve management of H. halys in the Midwest. First, I compared three popular cold-hardy cultivars for risk of injury from H. halys in two-year field and laboratory experiments. Both field and laboratory experiments showed that the cultivars significantly varied in their risk for H. halys injury. One apple cultivar demonstrated a high risk for H. halys injury throughout all experiments and another seemed to be at risk at a later maturity date. Secondly, I characterized the predator community of Minnesota apple orchards through season-long sampling over two years. The relative abundances and composition of the predators in orchards differed from previous studies in both proximate and distant states, which has direct implications for the level of biological control that can be achieved for H. halys in Minnesota. In addition, I compared the abundances of total predators and specific predator groups between apple cultivars sampled and found there to be significant differences across years. Lastly, I examined the impact of natural enemies on H. halys in Minnesota apple orchards by conducting sentinel egg mass studies over two years. Overall predation was found to be low with no parasitism observed. This finding indicates that with current standard management practices in conventional Minnesota apple orchards, control of H. halys is likely to be low by existing natural enemies. The results from my thesis will provide information to fine tune IPM plans for H. halys to help create a more sustainable apple production system for growers in the Midwestern US.enArthropodCultivarInvasive insectIPMThesis or Dissertation