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Sticker of Florida predatory stink bug
Bug card No. 1704 of 4,939

Florida predatory stink bug

Euthyrhynchus floridanus
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The Florida predatory stink bug is a bluish black or purplish brown shield bug with bright red spots. Most stink bugs suck plant juice, but this one is a hunter. Gardeners like it because it eats pest insects.

Lives in
The hottest parts of the southeastern United States, in gardens, orchards and bushes
Length
1.2 to 1.7 cm (0.47 to 0.67 in)
females are bigger than males
Top speed
about 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people, and helpful in gardens.
What does it eat?
It hunts caterpillars, beetles, weevils, planthoppers and even other stink bugs, and sucks them dry with its strong beak.
For real!Photo of Florida predatory stink bug
Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Florida predatory stink bug about 1.7 cm long (0.67 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 3 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 15 seconds

How big is Florida predatory stink bug compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its beak is short and thick, much stronger than the thin beaks of plant eating stink bugs.

2

The babies have bluish black fronts and red bellies, and they sometimes share one prey.

3

A mother lays about 140 eggs in her life, in batches of 20 to 90.

4

It is the only species in its whole genus.

you asked

Most asked questions about Florida predatory stink bug

?Is the Florida predatory stink bug good for gardens?

Yes. It eats many pest insects.

?How big is the Florida predatory stink bug?

Males are about 12 millimetres long and females up to 17 millimetres.

For bug experts

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

Where the facts come from

  1. Euthyrhynchus floridanus (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 Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, 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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