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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Coreoidea » Scentless Plant Bugs (Rhopalidae) » Serinethinae » Boisea » Eastern Boxelder Bug (Boisea trivittata)

Species Boisea trivittata - Eastern Boxelder Bug

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Eastern Boxelder Bug - Boisea trivittata

Eastern Boxelder Bug Nymph - Boisea trivittata - Boisea trivittata

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)

Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)

Superfamily Coreoidea

Family Rhopalidae (Scentless Plant Bugs)

Subfamily Serinethinae

Genus Boisea

Species trivittata (Eastern Boxelder Bug)

Other Common Names

Boxelder Bug, Box Elder Bug, Maple Bug, Democrat Bug, Populist Bug, Politician Bug. Apparently these political terms are primarily used in the Central Plains states as I've seen references to such from KS, NE, & IA. (MQ)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

=Leptocoris trivittatus (Say 1825)

Explanation of Names

Latin trivittatus 'three-striped' (refers to the stripes on the pronotum)

Size

11-14 mm(1)

Range

so. Canada (ON-AB) and most of the US east of the Rockies (west to ID-AZ) to Guatemala(2)

Habitat

Deciduous and mixed forests, meadows.

Season

Adults fall-winter, spring [Sep-Jan, May in NC(3)]

Food

Hosts: Acer grandidentatum (Bigtooth Maple), A. negundo (Boxelder), A. saccharinum (Silver Maple), A. buergerianum (Trident Maple), and Sapindus saponaria (Soapberry)(2)

Life Cycle

Eggs are laid in bark crevices or on foliage/seeds of host. Nymphs molt five times before reaching adulthood. Adult females overwinter, and are sometimes an annoyance as they invade houses in late fall. 1-2 generations per year.(4)

Remarks

may be a nuisance when it invades houses for hibernation(1) and leaves spots on furniture and other objects(5); not a commercial pest(6)

Internet References

Fact sheets by G.A. Hoover & S. Jacobs(7), URI(8), species page(9), by D. Keith(10), by F.B. Peairs(11)

Works Cited

1.	How to Know the True Bugs By Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M.

2.	Soapberry bugs of the world (Rhopalidae: Serinethinae), by S. Carroll & C. Perreira

3.	Insects of North Carolina By C.S. Brimley

4.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders By Lorus and Margery Milne

5.	Biodiversity of the Heteroptera By T.J. Henry

6.	Garden Insects of North America : The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides) By Whitney Cranshaw

7.	Penn State Entomology

8.	GreenShare: University of Rhode Island landscape horiculture program

9.	Royal Alberta Museum: Bug facts

10.	University of Nebraska–Lincoln: UNL Extension pages

11.	Colorado State University Extension Publications

Contributed by Cotinis on 3 May, 2004 - 10:00am
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Bug Eric, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Mike Quinn, v belov, KenW
Last updated 12 April, 2012 - 7:33pm

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