The Kudzu Bug
FAIRFAX, Va. (September 12, 2013) – A recent hitchhiker to the United States is quickly spreading throughout the South. The Kudzu bug arrived in 2009 on a plane from Asia to Atlanta, GA. Since then, populations have been spreading north and west.
The bug gets its name from its favorite food, the kudzu root. This plant is an invasive species in the United States, so the arrival of the kudzu bug could help control spread of the plant. However, the kudzu bug has a potential negative economic impact if it acquires a taste for crop plants such as soybeans.