Can anyone tell me how to tell the difference between a pest stink bug and a predacious stink bug. I have some in my garden but I do not want to get rid of them because I do not know which one they are. When I find them, they don't seem to be causing any damage as far as I can see. Thank you for any help!
Lots of cool color close ups... Hope this helps...
Judy
~~~~~~~ Ya know...after I posted this and looked at the pictures again...I noticed the spined soldier bug had what sort of resembled the Playboy Bunny logo near it's tail end...
Maybe that's what I'll look for in my identification process...hmmm...
~~~~ I garden ♥ therefore I am.
Posts: 884 | Location: zone 7a southeastern PA | Registered: June 15, 2002
In my interpretation of stink bugs..they are gray...about 1/2 inch in size and rather broad. That nasty squash beetle looks a lot like a stink bug, but is brown in color, narrower and a little longer. They do resemble each other. If I could figure out how to get rid of the squash beetle, then I could probably eliminate the stink bug. This is a "by the way"...I have always been tormented by Japanese beetles. Used those Japanese beetle traps for the past 3 years, and this year...I have not had ONE Japanese beetle. My neighbors on the road below me....are overwhelmed. So..I think those luring bags are simply....wonderful. Thanks for all the help here in this forum.
Posts: 500 | Location: roanoke, va | Registered: January 13, 2008
I am going to look again today and see if I can find the playboy bunny on the back. That is quite an eye you have, I don't think I would have noticed that. They seem to be growing in numbers. Their eggs seem to be a shiny metallic bronze color. I think that is a sign of the squash bug - again, they all look alike! I do notice the damage that resembles the squash bug damage. But it seems like there are a few types in the garden, some brown, some black and some gray. Help!!
I had no idea there were so many types of them... I'm plagued with harlequin bugs right now...however they seem to be satisfied ripping my horseradish leaves to shreds...
Judy
~~~~ I garden ♥ therefore I am.
Posts: 884 | Location: zone 7a southeastern PA | Registered: June 15, 2002
Judy, Thank you very much for those websites. For some reason, with all of my searching on the internet I did not find those sites and they are GREAT! The more I look at these sites that you found, the more I am thinking it might be a squash bug. It is dark in color as adults, and the eggs are bronze metallic. These sites were so helpful!Thanks again, Stephanie
I have twice this year had solder bugs in my hand and been about to squish them when I realized they were not stink bugs. They behave differently I think is how I knew. Not many bad bugs in my garden yet this year except for the Loopers. Everything is heat stressed now though, so I am expecting new bad visitors any day.
God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. Francis Bacon
Posts: 825 | Location: Central VA, zone 7 | Registered: November 03, 2005
