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California currently produces about a quarter of the world’s pistachios. Pistachio nuts are susceptible to feeding by stink bugs and leaffooted bugs; therefore, the invasive presence of the highly polyphagous brown marmorated stink bug, <i>Halyomorpha halys</i> (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a concern to California pistachio growers. We aimed to assess the potential of <i>H. halys</i> to cause yield loss and nut damage to pistachios, which had not yet been assessed in the field. Over two years, terminal branch ends with pistachio clusters were enclosed in organdy cages from spring to fall and exposed to either <i>H. halys</i>, the native stink bug <i>Chinavia hilaris</i> Say (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), or leaffooted bug <i>Leptoglossus zonatus</i> (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Coreidae), for 4–7-day feeding periods at different times of the season. We found that <i>H. halys</i> adults cause more epicarp lesions (external damage) when recorded at harvest time than the native species. They did not, however, cause more kernel necrosis (internal damage) than the two native species tested, which is a more relevant damage criterion for commercial production. There were no differences among insect species for any other recorded damage criteria. We conclude that <i>H. halys</i> could cause similar damage as the native species but note that <i>H. halys</i> population densities in California are still low and future damage levels will be dependent on this pest’s population density.