Genus Acrosternum

Green Stink Bug

Green Soldier Bug

Chinavia (see Remarks section below)

Acrosternum must be -acro, Greek "top or end" (or high?), plus sternum, Greek "chest" or "breast".

Arnett, p. 252, lists three species. (1)

Circa 13-18 mm

Large, green stink bugs. Outermost three antennal segments black. The shape of the stink gland pore, located on the sternum between the second and third leg, is short and broad in the Southern Green Stink Bug [Nezara viridula] but long and curved in the Green Stink Bug [Acrosternum (Chinavia)]:

Additional distinguishing characters (more easily used with photos) are found on the Nezara info page

See this page on Nezara viridula at the Univ. of Florida.

A. hilare is found throughout North America. A. pennsylvanicum is found in the east, especially the southeast. Another species occurs in south Florida.

Woodlands, edges.

May-frost (A. hilare, North Carolina)

Feeds on plant juices from leaves, fruit, flowers. Feeds on trees, herbs, many crops.

"Keg-shaped" eggs are attached to the underside of leaves in double rows of twelve or more. One generation per year in north, two in south.

Hatchlings - 1st and 2nd instars

3rd instar

4th instar

5th instar

Source:

SE Stinkbug Work Group at Forestry Images

Herb Pilcher, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org

This is our best interpretation of the BugGuide images based upon Herb Pilcher's images above. The variation in these images may be because the species is very variable, or it may be that we have images of several different species of Acrosternum here. We put these images on both the genus and the A. hilare species pages since, as a number of people have commented, it is not clear that we yet know how to tell the different Acrosternum species apart.

Dr. David Rider of North Dakota State University states here that "The genus name Acrosternum should be restricted to a handful of Old World, small, pale green species that live in dry arid areas. The larger, brighter green species that live in both the Old and New Worlds should actually go by the generic name Chinavia."

The genus Nezara.

Arnett, p. 252, fig. 20.13 (1)

Slater, p. 50, fig. 72, 73 (2)

Cranshaw, p. 228 (3)

Milne, p. 484, fig. 111 (4)

Brimley, p. 63 (5)

Swan and Papp, p. 129, fig. 125--A. hilare (6)

Salsbury, p. 96 (7)

Rea, p. 37--adult and eggs (8)

Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota

North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists A. hilare (425 pinned), and A. pennsylvanicum (12 pinned) for that state.