Stink Bugs

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Stink Bugs (Family Pentatomidae, Superfamily Pentatomoidea, Infraorder Pentatomomorpha, Suborder Heteroptera, Order Hemiptera)

Stink Bugs are named for the odor that they produce when attacked, and adults are easily recognized by their general shape and by their large, triangular "scutella." Identification of the different species is another matter, especially for immature bugs. The nymphs of each species go through a series of instars, stages of development demarcated by molting and usually characterized by striking changes in appearance. For example, the adult Green Stink Bug is uniformly green, while the early instars of its nymphs have elaborate patterns containing no green at all! To add to the confusion, adults of the same species come in different colors, and not all of these differences are explained by region.

Proper identification of stink bugs is important, since this family constitutes both some of the most beneficial and harmful insects to humans: some help farmers by eating pests, while others are crop pests themselves. The nymphs represent a special challenge since instars vary widely in appearance. Even in adults, color, as the pictures below show, can vary within species. This may vary according to nature and quality of diet.

All classifications follow standards set forth by the USDA's Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Many entomologists, mainly outside America, assign the predaceous stink bugs to the Asopinae subfamily, although the ITIS does not give it this recognition.

To see some Stink Bug predation (on Colorado Potato Beetle larvae) photos, see Mike Tetzlaff's page.

Spined Soldier Bugs (Podisus maculaventris)

Spined Soldier Bugs are economically important predators. They are used in agriculture to control caterpillar and beetle infestations of crops. They are distinguished from other stink bugs by the shape of their spiny "pronotum," located just in front of the scutellum. These relatively thick spines point mainly outward, in contrast with those of the Rice Stink Bug, which are thin and point as much upward as outward.


Durham, 6/18/05. Notice how the membranous parts of the wings overlap at the rear, just behind the triangle-shaped "scutellum" in the front.	Durham, 7/15/05. It has spines, but looks quite different from the bug on the left.	Boone, Watauga County, NC, 8/29/05. Here is yet another color variation.

Spined Soldier Bug nymph. Moses Cone Memorial Park, Watauga County, NC, 8/31/05. ID according to the University of Kentucky Critter Files. According to Featured Creatures website of University of Florida and the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, it's a fifth (and final) instar nymph.

Green Stink Bugs (Acrosternum hilare)

According to the University of Missouri (at Columbia) Extension's stink bug (as soybean pest) page, "Throughout North America, the green stink bug is tied for second among all insect species attacking soybean pods and seeds." While mowing wild grasses may help control the Rice Stink Bug in its nymph stage, apparently leaf-raking (or leaf-blowing) might help to control this overwintering insect by turning up adults.

Note the distinctive antennae markings - alternating black and grayish bands -- on all of these bugs.


Green Stink Bug (Acrosternum hilare) nymph, Little Scaly Mountain, Macon County, NC, 8/11/05. Apparently an early instar, i.e., stage of development in the immature insect, demarcated by a molt.	Green Stink Bug nymph, Boone, Watauga County, 8/31/05. ID according to Iowa State University's Entomology Image Gallery website. This is apparently an early instar (2nd or 3rd), but later than the one on the left.	Green Stink Bug nymph, Daniel Boone Gardens, Boone, Watauga County, NC, 8/9/06. One of the middle instars, apparently.	Green Stink Bug, nymph, Moses Cone Memorial Park, Watauga County, NC, 8/31/05. ID according to the University of Kentucky Critter Files. According to information at University of Missouri (at Columbia)Extension's stink bug (as soybean pest) page, i.e., "pale, yellow-green color with black markings," this is probably a fourth or later instar.


Adult Green Stink Bug, Boone, Watauga County, 8/31/05.	Adult Green Stink Bug, Durham, 11/30/05. Leaf-raking produced this unexpected dividend.	Adult Green Stink Bug, Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC, 6/10/06

Florida Predatory Stink Bugs (Euthyrhynchus floridanus)

The Florida Predatory Stink Bug controls crop pests, including the Southern Green Stink Bug, according to the University of Florida/State of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS)Featured Creatures Page. Identification of the adult Florida Predatory Stink Bug was based on a photo from the University of Florida's Prof. Russell F. Mizzell III's Stink Bug Monitoring Page.


Adult Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Durham, 10/29/05. This stink bug doesn't have a truly common name: this name was given by Florida entomologists. This bug was scurrying along the branches of a tree and I had to put it on the ground (temporarily) to get this photo.	Florida Predatory Stink Bug 5th instar nymphs (note the separate scutella and wing pads), Fort Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 8/27/03. These bugs appear to be attacking or scavenging a cockroach. ID based on IFAS document EENY-157.

Brown Stink Bugs (Euschistus servus)

Brown Stink Bugs are a major soybean pest, but not to the extent Green Stink Bugs are. This surprises me, since I've only seen one!

Brown Stink Bug (Euschistus servus [Say, 1832]), Durham, 10/18/06. It is a notorious soybean pest, but since there is no soybean farming in this part of the state, these bugs are scarce around here.

Menecletes insertus

These stink bugs have little or no agricultural importance, but they are relatively common in the Research Triangle area.


Adult Brown Stink Bug, Johnston's Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC, 2/3/06	Brown Stink Bug, Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, 4/13/06.	(Menecles insertus), Durham, 2/2/06


Possibly Menecletes insertus Stink bug nymph, Durham, 6/13/05. According to the NCSU IPM Stink Bug page, this might a fifth instar Brown Stink Bug nymph. You can see the partially formed scutellum in the middle and the wing pads (immature wings) on the sides.	Possibly Menecletes insertus Stink Bug nymph, Durham, 4/25/06. Probably an earlier instar.	Menecletes insertus Stink Bug nymph, other side of bug on left (playing dead).

Rice Stink Bugs (Oebalus pugnax)

The adult Rice Stink Bug is a major rice and sorghum pest, and an article in Rice Farming by Marni Katz advises mowing wild grasses to control the nymphs. But apparently they also do very well in swamps, which probably resemble rice paddies more closely.

Identifications of these Rice Stink Bug were based on a photo from the University of Florida's Prof. Russell F. Mizzell III's Stink Bug Monitoring Page.


Rice Stink Bug, Durham, 9/5/05. Nymphs of this species feed on wild grasses, but adults become crop pests. This bug showed up in my neighborhood swamp.	Rice Stink Bug, Durham, NC, 7/13/06. Found in the same swamp.	Probably Rice Stink Bugs mating, with would-be interloper, in Boone, Watauga County, NC, 8/31/05. This isn't the greatest photo for identification purposes, but at least you can see the characteristically thin spines and elongated bodies. One bug has a yellow scutellum, while its mating partner doesn't. Also note that they are clinging to a stalk of vegetation, apparently another distinctive characteristic of Rice Stink Bugs.

Banasa calva genus stink bugs


Banasa calva genus, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 11/7/05. This is an unusual color pattern for around here, and for the web; apparently only Bugguide.net has a photo of one like it, taken in Ontario.	Banasa calva genus, Durham, 3/2/06. This bug showed up at my house at 9:28 pm.

Mystery Stink Bug Adult

Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, Wake County, NC, 3/17/06. About ¼ inch long.

Mystery Stink Bug Nymphs

My best guess is that these are Spined Soldier Bugs because of the nature of the emerging spines. Note also the small scutella.


Boone, Watauga County, 8/29/05.	Durham, 6/13/05.