Stink Bugs

Stink bugs can destroy your garden in short order and they smell pretty bad.

Stink bug (Emphyrio) Pixabay

​Stink bug identification

Stink bugs are true bugs, which means they are members of Hemiptera. The word Hemiptera comes from the Greek for half-wing. The forewings (hemelytra) are hard and the hindwings are soft. Stink bugs can be recognized easily because of their flattened, boxy, shield-shaped body and tiny scent gland openings near where their shoulder blades would be if they were human. There are hundreds of stink bug species. Here are just a few:

• Bagrada bugs (Bagrada hilaris) are black with red and orange markings; invasive
• Brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) are mottled gray-brown invasive stink bugs
• Brown stink bugs (Euschistus servus)
• Conchuela stink bugs (Chlorochroa ligata)
• Consperse stink bug (Euschistus conspersus) is gray to greenish brown, with spotted legs
• Dusky stink bugs (E. tristigmus) are smaller than other stink bugs
• Green stink bug (Acrosternum hilare) is bright green with red, orange or yellow edges 
• Harlequin bugs (Murgantia histrionica) are shiny black with yellow, orange, and red markings
• One-spotted stink bugs (E. variolarius)
• Rough stink bugs (Brochymena sulcata) are beneficial predators
• Say stink bugs (Chlorochroa sayi) are green with a white border
• Southern green stink bugs (Nezara viridula) are bright green; larger than other species
• Two-spotted stink bugs (Perillus bioculatus)
• Uhler’s stink bugs (Chlorochroa uhleri) are green with a yellow skirt

Stink bug lifecycle

Stink bug eggs are laid in clusters of tiny barrel shapes on the underside of leaves in spring and fall. Before hatching, the eggs can be white, yellow, green, buff, or even pink. When they hatch, the cluster will be covered with tiny brownish-orange babies, called first instar nymphs. Each instar is a developmental stage that is achieved through molting. Stink bugs have five instars before reaching full size. Stink bugs can have 4 generations every year and each female can lay hundreds of eggs at each laying. Yup, they add up fast!

​Stink bug damage

Stink bug eggs on netting

There are 250 varieties of stink bugs in the U.S. and 4700 worldwide. They can be brown or green. Stink bugs eat seeds, grain, fruit, vegetables, ornamental plants, legumes, weeds and tree leaves. They can also transmit tomato bacterial spot with their piercing mouthparts. Unfortunately, insecticides are ineffective against stink bugs.

Stink bug controls
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Wasps and flies, such as the tachinid fly (Trichopoda pennipes) and the Trissolcus basalis wasp will parasitize the eggs, but those critters are not always available when you need them. You can also provide habitat for birds, spiders, toads, and other insect-eating critters. The best method of control for stink bugs is to handpick and deposit them in a container of soapy water.