Uncovering plant hosts from stink bug guts throughout the cotton growing season in the Brazos River bottom, Texas

Stink bug populations and respective feeding damage on cotton have become more prevalent within the Brazos River Bottom (BRB), Texas. The three most common species surveyed from these populations are the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), the redshouldered stink bug, Thyanta custator accerra (McAtee), and the green stink bug, Chinavia halaris (Say). It is unknown which host plants these stink bug species utilize before dispersing to cotton. Thus, amplicon sequencing was performed on the gut contents of brown, redshouldered, and green stink bugs collected from light traps to investigate what host plants they fed on before and after cotton became susceptible. Traps were established at three locations near cotton fields in the BRB, and collections took place from ​​27 June 2023 through 29 September 2023 and 04 June 2024 through 04 October 2024. A subset of gut samples were analyzed to at least the family level and species level when possible. Results showed that stink bugs utilized corn, plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, and native host plants before moving to cotton. These data are essential for understanding the plant hosts associated with the development of these stink bugs and will be critical for managing population numbers in cotton.