Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / True bugs and cicadas
Sticker of Mottled stink bug
Bug card No. 2920 of 4,939

Mottled stink bug

Rhaphigaster nebulosa
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The mottled stink bug is a big, flat shieldbug in dusty yellow, grey and brown. The edges of its body and its feelers have black and yellow stripes. If it feels scared, it lets out a strong smell to keep enemies away.

Lives in
Europe, more in the south, in warm forests, parks and gardens
Length
1.4 to 1.6 cm (0.55 to 0.63 in)
Top speed
about 0.23 km/h (0.14 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless, but it can make a strong smell when it is bothered. If you touch one, wash your hands afterwards.
What does it eat?
It sucks sap from trees and bushes like birch, hazel, oak, apple and willow. Sometimes it also feeds on insects that have just died.
For real!Photo of Mottled stink bug
Picture by Didier Descouens. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Mottled stink bug about 1.6 cm long (0.63 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 16 seconds

How big is Mottled stink bug compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It has a long spine on its belly, between its front legs.

2

It is a slow flier, and it hums loudly as it flies.

3

In autumn it looks for cracks to spend the winter in, and that is how it sometimes ends up inside houses.

4

The mother glues about 40 eggs onto plants in neat lines or little circles.

5

Young bugs have their smell glands on their back, but grown-ups have them underneath, on the chest.

you asked

Most asked questions about Mottled stink bug

?Is the mottled stink bug dangerous?

No. It does not bite people, but it can make a bad smell if you bother it.

?Why is there a stink bug in my house?

In autumn it looks for a dry crack to spend the winter, and sometimes it finds a way inside.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Rhaphigaster nebulosa
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Pentatomidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia
Also known as
Mottled shieldbug

Where the facts come from

  1. Rhaphigaster nebulosa (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 Didier Descouens. 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.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: True bugs and cicadas

Pharaoh cicadaTrue bugs and cicadasSpotted lanternflyTrue bugs and cicadasBrown marmorated stink bugTrue bugs and cicadasCochinealTrue bugs and cicadasBoxelder bugTrue bugs and cicadasWestern conifer seed bugTrue bugs and cicadas

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Zarucco duskywingButterfliesCalifornia digger beeBees and bumblebeesMountain lady beetleLadybirdsFan-bristled robberflyFlies and mosquitoesAsian magpie mothMothsBellicose bumble beeBees and bumblebees
Honey jarfor grown-ups