Agriculture Victoria issues warning after exotic pest found in Port Melbourne

A new resident has blown into Port Melbourne, but its neighbours can be forgiven for not rolling out the welcome wagon.

A new resident has blown into Port Melbourne, but its neighbours can be forgiven for not rolling out the welcome wagon.

The brown stink bug — or BMSB — was recently found in Port Melbourne by Agriculture Victoria staff, and while the pint-sized newly-minted local doesn’t host loud parties, it boasts an odour its neighbours will find hard on the nose.

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Victoria’s chief plant health officer Dr Rosa Crnov said traps were laid for the exotic pest after one was found in Clayton in December, and while the bug posed no safety risk to humans or animals, it could cause significant damage to existing plants.

And she said it’s believed the bug may have made its entry via an import of goods, potentially terracotta pots, from overseas.

“The smell … is sometimes described as similar to pungent onions or smelly socks,” she said.

“The bugs have been linked to terracotta pots and earthmoving machinery here in Victoria, and other items such as new shoes and glassware internationally.

“If you see a bug, catch it, take a photo and contact us. Reporting any suspect bugs will help us establish if there are any more, and if there are more we will work to stop their spread.”

The BMSB is described as 12 to 17mm long and it has a brown shieldlike shape with black and white banding around the outer edge of its body.

It omits an odour when disturbed or squashed and is native to China, Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan.

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