During the 2011-2013 growing seasons, the plants listed below had the highest numbers of BMSB during weekly surveys in urban landscapes and woodlots in western North Carolina. Note that these numbers are simply averages, as populations fluctuated and moved from host to host over the course of the season.
Some of these plants (such as tree of heaven, paulownia, and porcelainberry) are exotic invasives, and removing them from the landscape may help reduce local populations of BMSB. Native species (such as dogwood, maple, and walnut) are generally less attractive to BMSB, and removing them is not recommended.
A more complete list of known BMSB host plants in the US was compiled by the nationwide BMSB working group. The number of actual BMSB hosts is probably greater.
Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Paulownia, a.k.a. princess tree or empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
Southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides)
Cherry (Prunus spp.)
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
Yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava)
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Red maple (Acer rubrum)
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata)
Wild blackberry (Rubus spp.)
Image credits: Steve Schoof, NC State University
