Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential risk to agricultural products in the UK through the import of goods or vehicles carrying the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys.

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is an insect from eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan). It has no established populations in the UK. We are aware that it has spread into the USA and to mainland Europe. For example, it was first reported in Germany in 2001. Subsequent reports have come from Switzerland (2004), Greece (2011), France (2012), Italy (2012) and Hungary (2013). The insect has been intercepted in the UK on several occasions in recent years.

We have carried out a risk assessment on the potential for this organism to arrive in the UK and cause damage. Given its establishment in Europe and other parts of the world and its potential to spread by hitchhiking, on vehicles and through human movements, as well as via trade, our assessment has shown that it has the potential to reach the UK. It may be able to survive in our climate, but is unlikely to reach more than one generation per year, preventing it from reaching harmful levels. The insect is not therefore a significant threat to UK horticultural crops but as with all pests and diseases, the UK continues to closely monitor any threats.

A Defra fact sheet on the insect has been published on the Plant Health Portal.