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Sticker of Black stink bug
Bug card No. 0436 of 4,939

Black stink bug

Proxys punctulatus
Eats: A bit of everythingTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The black stink bug is a shiny black shield bug with one yellow spot at the tip of the shield on its back. Its head and shoulders are pointed. Its black and yellow colours may warn birds that it tastes bad.

Lives in
North America, Central America and the Caribbean
Length
1.1 to 1.3 cm (0.43 to 0.51 in)
Top speed
about 0.21 km/h (0.13 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
It does not bite or sting people. Like other stink bugs, it may smell if you squash it.
What does it eat?
It sucks juice from plants like blackberry, spiderwort and soybean, and it also eats insect larvae.
For real!Photo of Black stink bug
Picture by xpda. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Black stink bug about 1.3 cm long (0.51 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
as long as 2 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 17 seconds

How big is Black stink bug compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its legs are black and cream.

2

The grown-ups spend the winter hiding in fallen leaves near their food plants.

3

Its babies grow through five stages before they become adults.

4

It never becomes very common, so it does little harm to plants.

you asked

Most asked questions about Black stink bug

?Is the black stink bug harmful?

Not to people, and it rarely harms plants much.

?What does the black stink bug eat?

Plant juices and also insect larvae.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Proxys punctulatus
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Pentatomidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Proxys punctulatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by xpda. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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