By Judy Koehly
Master Gardener
There is a new pest in town: the kudzu bug. Megacopta cribraria, commonly referred to as the kudzu bug, was first discovered on kudzu in the vicinity of Atlanta, Ga., during the fall of 2009. Unfortunately kudzu is not the only plant it has on its diet. It quickly moved across Georgia and South Carolina, causing extensive soybean damage.
In 2011, it was found in North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia, and by 2012 is being found in at least two more states—Florida and Tennessee.