Stink Bugs

There once was a giant stink bug 

Whose plates made him look like a thug 

His name was Matt 

As big as a bat 

He was made fun of by the stinkbug dug
One day he rubbed his legs for a mate 

However the other stink bugs used him as bait

He was stepped on by a mink 

This made him stink 

Unfortunately this sealed his fate 

There once was a giant stink bug 

Whose plates made him look like a thug 

His name was Matt 

As big as a bat 

He was made fun of by the stinkbug dug

One day he rubbed his legs for a mate 

However the other stink bugs used him as bate 

He was stepped on by a mink 

This made him stink 

Unfortunately this sealed his fate

(Taken from Pete's Poetry Page)

 Stink bugs are shield-shaped bugs in the family Pentatomidae. They are called stink bugs from the icky smelling odor they emit when disturbed. This tendency is effective at warding off predators. After all who or what wants to eat something that smells like rancid almonds?

In the family of stink bugs there are both the "bad" guys and the "good" guys. Some species will feed on plants, by sucking the plant juices out, effectively damaging the plant. Because these insects can show up in large numbers it is easy to see how effective they would be in causing significant damage to numerous crops and plants. In addition many of them have become resistant to pesticides and are therefore difficult to control. 
Other species are insect feeders and use their beak-like mouth parts to inject enzymes into their prey and slurp up the juices like an insect-smoothie.  This gives a whole new meaning to "Lethal injection."

 This makes them effective at controlling many insects that can also be harmful. In the picture here the stink bug is feeding on a Green Dock Beetle. They are effective at controlling Japanese Beetles and Mexican Bean Beetle as well. 

A new species of stink bug has made its way into the United States. The  brown marmorated stink bug was first found in Pennsylvania and is believed to have entered the country accidentally. They are originally from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, where they are considered a major agricultural pest. Recently, the BMSB has become a serious pests of fruit, vegetables and farm crops in the Mid-Atlantic region and most likely it will  become a pest of these commodities in other areas in the United States. 

BMSB becomes a nuisance pest both indoors and out when it is attracted to the outside of houses on warm fall days in search of protected, overwintering sites. BMSB  occasionally reappears during warmer sunny periods throughout the winter, and again as it emerges in the spring. This is reminiscent of Asian Lady Beetles and Boxelder bugs. Everyone who has these insects show up in large aggregations on their homes complain about them. Now we have another insect with the same tendency to add to the growing list of insects that seem to prefer sharing our homes to finding their own natural occurring residence, preferably away from us! So far this particular stink bug has not been found in Missouri, at least it hasn't been reported. 

 (Brown Marmorated Stink Bug--Be on the look out!)

Adults are approximately 17 mm long (25 mm = one inch) and are shades of brown on both the upper and lower body surfaces. They are the typical “shield” shape of other stink bugs, almost as wide as they are long. To distinguish them from other stink bugs, look for lighter bands on the antennae and darker bands on the membranous, overlapping part at the rear of the front pair of wings. They have patches of coppery or bluish-metallic colored puntures (small rounded depressions) on the head and pronotum.

Some stinkbugs use special odors to attract mates. Smelling the odors helps partners find each other. Some kinds of stinkbugs also attract mates with sound. They rub their legs or wings against their bodies to make noises similar to those of crickets. Mates are drawn to the sounds.

After mating, a female stinkbug lays batches of eggs. Often she lays them in neat rows of 12 or 14 eggs each. The eggs are usually laid on plant leaves. Stinkbug eggs look like tiny barrels. The colors of the eggs depend on the type of stinkbug that laid them. Green stinkbugs, for example, lay yellow to green eggs that turn pink or gray.

In some species, a mother stinkbug closely guards her nymphs, or young, after they hatch. If the mother senses danger, she moves herself between the enemy and the nymphs. Then she acts as a shield and moves from side to side to protect the nymphs.

Stinkbugs, like all true bugs, change as they grow. Like all insects, they go through a process called metamorphosis. But stinkbugs don’t change as much as many other insects do. Most insects go through four stages of development, while stinkbugs go through three. That’s why a stinkbug’s metamorphosis is incomplete.

A nymph has a shape much like an adult. Nymphs are smaller than adults, though. And nymphs don’t have wings, as most adults do. A nymph is born with a hard outer layer of skin that it soon outgrows. So the nymph molts, or sheds its skin. After the first molt, small padlike wings appear on the nymph’s body. With each new molt, the wings grow longer. After the fifth and last molt, the wings are fully developed. A stinkbug nymph becomes an adult after about a month.

There are hundreds of species of stink bugs and they can vary in color from tan, brown, black, gray, green and even red or blue. They range in size from 1/4 inch up to 1/2 inch. The following are few examples of some different stink bugs found in Missouri.

(Stiretrus anchorago--Anchor Stink Bug; 2 color forms red and bronze)

(Euschistus servus - Brown Stink Bug)

(Cosmopepla lintneriana--Twice-Stabbed Stink Bug)

Resources: 

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/stinkbug-info.htm

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentatomidae