Genetic mapping of rice stink bug aids crop pest control

Although farmers have treated rice bugs as pests since the 1880s, entomologists are still learning about them at the genetic level. A first-of-its-kind study published on the genetics of rice bugs offers clues that could shape the insecticide resistance front of a tiny creature that costs Arkansas farmers millions of dollars a year. Grain rice and sorghum are the main economic crops, but the bug feeds on many types of plants.