Species Jadera haematoloma - Red-shouldered Bug

Goldenrain Tree Bug

Golden-Rain-Tree Bug

adult body length 9.5 - 13.5 mm

Adult: mostly black or brownish-black except for reddish eyes, ocelli, shoulders, and border area of abdomen

Nymph: mostly red, with brown or blackish thorax, antennae, beak, and legs

across southern United States, north in the east to North Carolina

Common (46 pinned), and listed for North Carolina at the NCSU Entomology Collection

yards and gardens, often in large aggregations to feed on seeds that have dropped to the ground from trees overhead

year-round in Florida, with peak numbers in May in central Florida

"J. haematoloma feeds on a variety of plants but prefers balloonvine (Cardiospermum spp.; Sapindaceae) which grows in southern Florida. Additional hosts include other Sapindaceae, Ficus spp. (Moraceae) and Althaea spp. (Malvaceae). In some areas the bugs are observed feeding so often on goldenrain tree seeds (Koelreuteria spp.; Sapindaceae), that they are referred to as 'goldenrain tree bugs'." - Frank Mead and Thomas Fasulo, University of Florida

Widespread southern species, in same family as the Boxelder Bug. Often associated with the introduced Goldenrain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata; family Sapindaceae) but is apparently a native insect. See various descriptions of that tree: Vermont Dendrology, USDA, NCSU Fact sheet. The bug is probably more widespread than formerly, following the distribution of the cultivated tree.

Boxelder Bugs (Boisea spp.) are very similar in nymphal stages, but adults have red lines on wing edges, and red middorsal line on pronotum.

Boxelder bugs may also be distinguished by the hostplant (Boxelder, not Goldenrain Tree).

Slater illustrates and describes J. haematoloma, p. 68, Fig. 113. Range is given as southern and southwestern US for that species. (1)

A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects, fig. 69. (2)

NCSU IPM page species account and common name reference (Stephen Toth and Thomas Melton, North Carolina State U.)

Texas Insects photo and species account, including common name reference (Bastiaan Drees and John Jackman, Texas A&M U.)

University of Florida - Featured Creatures photos and species account, including common name references (Frank Mead and Thomas Fasulo)