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Stinkbugs are common agricultural pests, notorious for damaging crops and difficult to control. Chemical pesticides raise environmental concerns and face the problem of resistance, while parasitic wasps are widely used as natural biocontrol agents. Dr. Chih-Horng Kuo and his team at the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology (IPMB), Academia Sinica, joined an international collaboration led by Dr. Takema Fukatsu at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan. The researchers discovered that female stinkbugs possess specialized organs on their hindlegs that cultivate symbiotic fungi. During egg-laying, the females smear these fungi onto their eggs, and the growing hyphae form a defensive layer that effectively prevents parasitic wasp attacks. Similar findings in multiple species from Japan and Taiwan, together with evolutionary analyses, suggest that this defensive symbiosis originated in an early ancestor of the Dinidoridae family.

This finding expands the concept of insect–microbe symbiosis by revealing that symbionts, in addition to providing nutritional or chemical benefits, can also offer physical protection. The study not only advances our understanding of the evolution and ecological functions of symbiosis but also provides valuable insights for formulating pest management strategies.

The collaboration integrated long-standing Japanese expertise in insect–microbe symbiosis with Taiwanese strengths in biodiversity and evolutionary research. Through close cooperation, the teams revealed that this defensive symbiosis represents an ancient and widespread strategy among stinkbugs.

This research was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and Academia Sinica. The results were published in Science on October 16, 2025.