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Family Pentatomidae - Stink Bugs
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Superfamily Pentatomoidea
Family Pentatomidae (Stink Bugs)
Other Common Names Shield Bugs (mostly used to refer to Acanthosomatidae and thus not recommended)
Explanation of Names Greek pente 'five' + tom- 'section, cut' (a reference to the 5-segmented antennae)
Pentatomids produce odors from thoracic glands for self-defense, thus the English name
Numbers ca. 220 species in ~60 genera in NA, arranged in 5 subfamilies in our area (1); almost 5000 spp. in ca. 900 genera of 10 subfamilies worldwide (2)
Overview of our fauna (DRAFT):
Family PENTATOMIDAE
Taxa not yet in the guide are marked (*). Questionable records not included.
Alcaeorrhynchus, *Andrallus, Apateticus, Apoecilus, Euthyrhynchus, Oplomus, Perillus, Picromerus, Podisus, *Rhacognathus, Stiretrus, Tylospilus, Zicrona
Tribe Carpocorini Antheminia, Coenus, Cosmopepla, Euschistus, Holcostethus, Hymenarcys, Kermana, Menecles, Moromorpha, Mormidea, Oebalus, *Padaeus, Prionosoma, Proxys, Trichopepla
Identification Characteristics of family:
broad, shield-shaped bugs
5-segmented antennae
large, triangular scutellum;
head relatively small and often "tucked into" a concavity in anterior margin of pronotum
Range worldwide and throughout NA
Season spring through fall (overwinters as an adult under ground cover or leaf litter)
Food The majority of our spp. are herbivorous, but members of one subfamily ( Asopinae) are predaceous, often seen preying on other insects. Both adults and nymphs of plant-feeding species may damage plants, mostly by piercing the plant tissues and thus opening a path for pathogens to enter the plant.
Life Cycle Barrel-shaped eggs are laid on the underside of leaves in clusters with tight rows; in early spring, overwintered adult females seek out suitable hosts and typically deposit their eggs on wild host plants. Often these overwintering populations are found along field borders, particularly along tree lines near their overwintering sites. Later-developing cultivated plants become more attractive when these initial wild hosts dry down, and their proximity allows easy access for stink bug colonization in crops; emerging nymphs are gregarious and remain on/near the egg mass, then begin to feed and disperse as they grow.
Internet References Fact sheet by Blake Newton
Works Cited | 3. | How to Know the True Bugs By Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. | |
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