FAIRMONT — Invasive species are not a new problem to Martin County.

An invasive species is defined as plants, animals or insects not native to a specific location and that have a tendency to spread and potentially damage the environment or human health.

Most recently, Martin County has dealt with the emerald ash borer, which was discovered northeast of Welcome last fall.

Earlier this week, Gary Wyatt from the University of Minnesota — along with Rich Perrine and Dustin Benes of the Martin County Soil and Water Conservation District — gave a public presentation on other invasive species in the area.

Wyatt shared some of what he discussed concerning insects, while Perrine covered herbaceous weeds and Benes talked about aquatic invasives.

Wyatt shared information about two insects in particular, noting that a certain kind of stink bug is being watched for.

“The brown marmorated stink bug is a stink bug native to Asia, and was detected in Minnesota a couple of years ago, mainly in the Twin Cities and the south east part of the state,” he said. “It has been found now in soybean fields in the southeastern part of the state and has a numerous list of host plants, over 300 species. That includes things like corn, soybeans, grapes and apples, so it’s certainly a pest that we’re watching for.

“It’s also a home invader like the box elder bug and the Asian lady beetles. So that’s one detection method we’re looking for is if someone sees a stink bug in the fall trying to get into their home, then we want people to take a picture or keep a sample so we can see if it is the brown marmorated stink bug and document the counties that have that problem.”

Wyatt said the bug has white bands on its antennae and legs, but a magnifying glass would be needed to see them.

He noted that beneficial insects have been released to combat both the stink bug and the emerald ash borer, but said it will be some time before any potential effects are recognized.

Wyatt then went on to describe another invasive pest.

“The spotted wing drosophila is a fruit fly from Asia and is not native to the United States,” he said. “It has been known to be affecting raspberry farms and raspberry plantings. Its range is thin-skinned fruit such as blackberries, blueberries, cherries, plums, grapes and strawberries, if it doesn’t find raspberries.

“It’s a major problem in various parts of the state,” he continued. “It’s mostly active in June through September. There are some treatments, but the trouble is that these are edible plants we’re treating so it’s very difficult to treat a plant that’s preventing the insect on edible fruit.”

Wyatt noted that people can notify authorities about these pests via an app for their phones. The app is specifically for invasive species, and it goes right to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The app is called GLEDN, which stands for Great Lakes Early Detection Network.