July 07, 2011 Wine Flavor Affected by Stink Bugs

By By Vickie Frantz, AccuWeather.com staff writer July 07, 2011, 2:57:02 AM EDT

The Asian brown marmorated stink bug that has caused damage to numerous crops is now a concern to wineries in Virginia, Oregon, Washington and California.

The stink bugs were first found in the United States in Allentown, Pa., in the late 1990s. Native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the stink bugs have no natural predators in the U.S.

The bugs are a nuisance to farmers due to using their tongues to suck juice from fruits and vegetables. While this does not influence the flavor of the produce, it does leave visible damage that makes it less appealing to shoppers. Crops such as apples, peaches, blackberries, sweet and field corn, soybeans, tomatoes, lima beans and green peppers were all damaged last season.

This year, wineries have noticed the insects clinging to grapes that are being harvested for wine, according to usnews.com. If the stink bugs get crushed with the grapes, it only takes 10 of them crushed into one ton of grapes to affect the flavor of the wine. Workers who harvest the grapes have been removing the insects from the clumps by hand.

Scientists have been searching for a way to combat the stink bug problem. One area of research involves using the Asian wasp. The non-stinging wasps lay their eggs inside of the eggs of the stink bugs. The developing wasps then eat the developing stink bugs.

Tests are still being done to determine if the wasps would cause additional problems if they were introduced to areas of the U.S. The tests could take an additional two years to complete before the wasps would be approved for use in orchards, vineyards and gardens.

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