Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Family Pentatomidae - Stink Bugs

Podisus sp. - Podisus neglectus Stinkbug 4 - Trichopepla grossa Chinavia marginata (Palisot) - Chinavia marginata Banasa nymph? - Euschistus Harlequin Bug - Murgantia histrionica Stink Bug - Podisus maculiventris Euschistus quadrator Rolston - Euschistus quadrator Brochymena hoppingi? - Brochymena hoppingi - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily Pentatomoidea
Family Pentatomidae (Stink Bugs)
Other Common Names
Shield Bugs (mostly used to refer to Acanthosomatidae and thus not recommended)
Explanation of Names
Pentatomidae Leach 1815
from Pentatoma Olivier 1789 (type genus) 'five-segmented' (a reference to the antennae)
the English name refers to the odor produced by these bugs
Numbers
one of the largest heteropteran families, with >220 species in 64 genera of 5 subfamilies in our area(1) and almost 5000 spp. in ~940 genera of 10 subfamilies worldwide(2)

Overview of our fauna (DRAFT)Taxa not yet in the guide are marked (*). Dubious records not included.
Family Pentatomidae



Subfamily Pentatominae














Subfamily Podopinae
Size
4‒20 mm(3), our spp. 5‒18 mm
Identification
Range
worldwide and throughout NA
Season
spring through fall (overwinter usually as adults under ground cover or leaf litter); eggs generally laid in spring; uni- to multivoltine(1)
Food
The majority are herbivorous, but members of one subfamily (Asopinae) are predaceous 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 plant pathogens.
Many species, whether primarily herbivorous or predaceous, are generalist feeders.(1)
Life Cycle
Barrel-shaped eggs are laid on the underside of host leaves in tight clusters. Hatchlings are gregarious and stay close to the egg mass, then begin to feed and disperse.
Remarks
overwintering adults often become conspicuous guests in homes; many spp. come to lights, sometimes in numbers(1)
Print References
(5)(6)
updated catalog in (7)
local faunal updates:(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(1)(13)(14)(4)(15)(16)(17)
Internet References
Works Cited
1.An updated synopsis of the Pentatomoidea (Heteroptera) of Michigan
Swanson D.R. 2012. Great Lakes Entomologist 45: 263-311.
2.Rider D. (2006-) Pentatomoidea home page
3.True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera:Heteroptera): Classification and Natural History
Randall T. Schuh & James Alexander Slater. 1995. 1995. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
4.Stink bugs (Pentatomidae) and parent bugs (Acanthosomatidae) of Ontario and adjacent areas...
Paiero S.M., Marshall S.A., McPherson J.E., Ma M.-S. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 24: 1-183.
5.How to Know the True Bugs
Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. 1978. Wm. C. Brown Company.
6.The Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera) of Northeastern North America
J.E. McPherson. 1982. Southern Illinois University Press.
7.A distributional synopsis of the Pentatomidae (Heteroptera) north of Mexico, including new state and provincial records
Rider, D.A. and Swanson, D.R. 2021. Zootaxa, 5015(1), 1–69.
8.The stink bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) of Missouri
Sites R.W., Simpson K.B., Wood D.L. 2012. Great Lakes Entomologist 45: 134-163.
9.An annotated checklist of the stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) of New Mexico
Bundy C.S. 2012. Great Lakes Entomologist 45: 196-209.
10.The Pentatomidae, or stink bugs, of Kansas with a key to species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)
Packauskas R.J. 2012. Great Lakes Entomologist 45: 210-219.
11.Annotated checklist of the Pentatomidae (Heteroptera) of Connecticut
O'Donnell J.E., Schaefer C.W. 2012. Great Lakes Entomologist 45: 220-234.
12.The stink bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) of Washington State
Zack R.S., Landolt P.J., Munyaneza J.E. 2012. Great Lakes Entomologist 45: 251-262.
13.The Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of North Dakota I: Pentatomomorpha: Pentatomoidea
Rider D.A. 2012. Great Lakes Entomol. 45: 312‒380.
14.Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) of Minnesota: an annotated checklist and new state records
Koch R.L., Rider D., Tinerella P.P., Rich W.A. 2014. Great Lakes Entomol. 47: 171-185.
15.The stink bugs of Ohio (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).
Furth, D.G. 1974. Bulletin, Ohio Biological Survey 5(1): 1-60.
16.The Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera) of Oklahoma.
Arnold, D.C. and W.A. Drew. 1988. Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin, T-166. 42 pp.
17.The Pentatomidae of Arkansas.
Barton, H.E. and L.A. Lee. 1981. Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings 35: 20–25.