Rice stink bug - rice stink bug

An insect belonging to the Hemiptera order of the Insecta class, the family Hemiptera. Also known as the rice brown stink bug. It is found in areas south of Honshu, as well as in Southeast Asia and India, and is 12 to 13 mm long. Its body is almost oblong and uniformly light brown, but the leading edge of its forewings is white. It appears once a year, overwintering as an adult, and then gathers in paddy fields during the rice ear season, laying 14 eggs in two rows at a time. New adults appear at the end of August. Both adults and larvae damage rice ears, and are a notable pest that causes spotted rice and sterile grains that do not produce seeds even after flowers appear. In the past, it was particularly prevalent in Ibaraki, Chiba, Ehime, Kochi and Kumamoto prefectures, but since around 1950, there have been no noticeable outbreaks, and it is no longer considered a problem.

[Tachikawa Shuji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昆虫綱半翅(はんし)目カメムシ科に属する昆虫。別名イネカッショクカメムシ。本州以南の各地、および東南アジア、インドに分布し、体長12～13ミリメートル。体はほぼ長楕円(ちょうだえん)形で、一様に淡褐色であるが、前翅の前縁が白色を帯びる。年1回発生し、成虫で越冬ののち、イネの出穂期に水田に集まり、1回に14粒の卵を2列に並べて産卵する。8月末から新成虫が現れる。成虫、幼虫ともにイネの穂を加害し、斑点米(はんてんまい)や花がついても種子ができない不稔(ふねん)粒をつくる著名な害虫である。かつては茨城、千葉、愛媛、高知、熊本の各県でとくに多発したが、1950年（昭和25）ごろからは目だった発生がなく、あまり問題視されなくなっている。

［立川周二］

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