Predatory Stink Bugs

You know how some families seem to be filled with troublemakers and then one offshoot ends up being helpful? Well, stink bugs are the same way.


​Most of them will suck the life out of your flowers, fruits, leaves, and young seeds. One, the rough stink bug, will eat caterpillars and leaf beetle larvae along with plants. But a few are full-on predators who feed on several different garden pests. Sadly, they also prey on bees and Monarch butterfly larvae. [They are members of  the stinker family, after all.]


​Rather than using piercing mouthparts to suck sap from your plants, these predatory nymphs feed on the larvae and other stages of several different beetles, planthoppers, and weevils. Specifically:

Florida predatory stink bug with bee (Judy Gallagher) CC BY 2.0

• black cutworms (Agrotis ipsilon)
• greater wax moths (Galleria mellonela)
• Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica)
• long-tailed skippers/bean leafroller caterpillars (Urbanus proteus)
• Mexican bean beetles (Epilachna varivestis)
• southern green stink bugs (Nezara viridula)
• tobacco budworms (Heliothis virescens)

 
There are four predatory stink bugs found in the U.S., mostly in southern states.


Anchor stink bugs

Anchor stink bugs (Stiretrus anchorago) are from Central and North America. They occur in several different color variations, ranging from black, white, and tan, to orange or red and black, to green and yellow.

Orange and black anchor stink bug (Pollinator) CC BY-SA 3.0

Green and yellow anchor stink bug (Richard Webster) CC BY-SA 4.0

Florida predatory stink bugs

Found predominantly in the southeastern U.S., Florida predatory stink bugs (Euthyrhynchus floridanus) hunt grasshoppers and other garden pests. They go after these larger insects by hunting in packs of up to twelve individuals. These bugs are just under ¾” long and bluish-black or purplish-brown with red rear ends with black markings, though they also come in a variety of colors. They have sturdier snouts than their sap-sucking cousins.

Florida predatory stink bug nymph (Erich G. Vallery, USDA, Bugwood.org) Public Domain

Florida predatory stink bug nymphs (Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata) CC BY-SA 4.0

Giant strong-nosed stink bugs

The giant strong-nosed stink bug (Alcaeorrhynchus grandis) is found in South and Central America as well as in southern U.S. states. These bugs can be nearly 1” long and they have two distinct points on their backs. They tend to be variegated brown with dark bands on their legs and dark spots on their bellies. Some individuals are red with black leg bands. Unlike the smaller egg clusters of other stink bugs, the giants lay eggs in masses of 100-200 eggs. Nymphs have a bluish-black thorax and red abdomens with dark stripes.

Giant strong-nosed stink bug (Clinton & Charles Robertson) CC BY-SA 2.0

Spined soldier bugs

Spined soldier bugs (Podisus maculiventris) are found throughout North America. They prefer feeding on the larvae of cabbage loopers, Colorado potato beetles, diamondback moth caterpillars, European corn borers, flea beetles, gypsy moths, imported cabbageworm larvae, Mexican bean beetles, and velveteen caterpillars, so count yourself lucky if you have these hunters in your landscape. You can even buy spined soldier bugs eggs to add to your IPM program.

Spined soldier bug (Richard Webster) CC BY-SA 4.0

Spined soldier bug feeding on Mexican bean beetle larvae (Wikipedia) Public Domain

As you search your garden for stink bugs, with a bucket of soapy water in hand, keep in mind that not all of them are bad. Sorting between beneficial and pest stink bugs is made a little easier because many predators tend to be more brightly colored and patterned.


Which types of stink bugs have you seen?