brown stink bug

(Euschistus servus)

Conservation Status
brown stink bug
Photo by Luciearl
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Brown stink bug is a common, medium-sized, stinkbug. It occurs across the United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico. It is common in Minnesota. There are two subspecies of Euschistus servus. Only E. s. euschistoides, the northern subspecies, is found in Minnesota. It can be a serious agricultural pest.

The head is small and narrow, much narrower than the thorax. It is tucked into a concave groove in the margin of the pronotum. There is no visible “neck” when viewed from above. There are two large, bulging, compound eyes and two small simple eyes (ocelli). There is no crosswise (transverse) groove between the compound eyes. The mouth parts are optimized for piercing and sucking, and take the form of a thick, curved, 3-segmented beak (rostrum). The rostrum is longer than the head and fits into a groove on the underside (sternum) when not in use. The antennae are exposed, conspicuous, slender, and long, much longer than the head but not as long as the body. They have five segments. The first segment is thicker than the second. The fifth segment and the last (apical) half of the fourth segment are dark brown to black. The remainder is orangish or reddish.

The body is shield-shaped, to 9 16 (10 to 14 mm) long, and 1 16 to (7 to 8.5 mm) wide. The upperside is grayish-yellow, hairless, and densely covered with dark brown punctures.

The exoskeletal plate covering the thorax (pronotum) is wide, giving the body a broad-shouldered appearance. The angles in the shoulder (humeral) area on each side are rounded and have no projecting tooth. The lateral margins toward the front are scalloped to toothed.

There are two pairs of wings, and they are held flat over the body when at rest. Between and at the wing bases there is a triangular plate (scutellum). The forewings (hemelytra) on the mature adult are as long as the abdomen but do not completely cover the sides of the abdomen. The sides of the abdomen are exposed and appear conspicuously striped when the wings are closed. The hemelytra have a thickened section at the base and a thin membranous section at the tip with a clear dividing line between the two. The thickened basal part is comprised of a narrow area (clavus) behind the scutellum when the wings are closed, and the remaining broad marginal area (corium). The scutellum is triangular and large, covering about half of the abdomen, but is not longer than the corium, and not reaching the tip of the abdomen. The tip of the scutellum is white or yellow and is mostly free of punctures. There is a dark spot, more a smudge, in the middle of the scutellum, and a similar spot in the middle of each corium. The spots are diffuse and may be barely visible. The hindwings are thin, membranous, and concealed under the forewings.

The underside of the body is pale, usually with a pinkish tinge, and contrasting sharply with the dark upper side. There are one to four black spots on the underside in the middle (medial) of the abdomen.

The legs are pale. The fourth segment of the hind leg (tibia) is grooved above. It does not have spines. The last part of the leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has 3 segments.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: to 9 16 (10 to 14 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Two generations per year. May to November

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

Adults overwinter in leaf and plant litter.

The female lays clusters of 14 kettle-shaped eggs in tight rows on the underside of leaves.

 
     
 

Nymph Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82.

 
  10/28/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hemiptera (true bugs, hoppers, aphids, and allies)  
 

Suborder

Heteroptera (true bugs)  
 

Infraorder

Pentatomomorpha (pentatomomorph bugs)  
 

Superfamily

Pentatomoidea (stink bugs, shield bugs, and allies)  
 

Family

Pentatomidae (stink bugs)  
 

Subfamily

Pentatominae  
  Tribe Carpocorini  
 

Genus

Euschistus (brown stink bugs)  
 

Subgenus

Euschistus  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

brown stink bug (Euschistus servus euschistoides)

brown stink bug (Euschistus servus servus)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

brown stink bug

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Corium

The thickened basal portion of the front wing that lies between the clavus and the membrane of insects in the family Hemiptera. Plural: coria.

 

Hemelytron

The forewing of true bugs (Order Hemiptera), thickened at the base and membranous at the tip. Plural: hemelytra.

 

Ocellus

Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Rostrum

The stiff, beak-like projection of the carapace or prolongation of the head of an insect, crustacean, or cetacean.

 

Scutellum

The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Alfredo Colon

 
    brown stink bug   brown stink bug  
           
    brown stink bug   brown stink bug  
 

Luciearl

 
    brown stink bug      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Brown Stink Bug (Euschistus servus)
Andree Reno Sanborn
  Brown Stink Bug (Euschistus servus)  

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  Brown Stinkbug (Euschistus servus servus)
Nature in Motion
 
   
 
About

Oct 17, 2016

The under-wing of this "pest" is quite beautiful as shown in the 1st clip, which is in slow motion. Note the water bubble in the 2nd clip. Host plant: They are found on a variety of plants such as legumes, vines, and cultivated crops. This one was on Beautyberry. Brown Stinkbugs do not eat other insects.

Pentatomomorpha » Pentatomoidea » Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae) » Pentatominae » Carpocorini » Euschistus » Brown Stink Bug (Euschistus servus) » Euschistus servus servus

Music: Kickin It

 
  Brown Stink Bug (Pentatomidae: Euschistus?) on Leaf
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Aug 5, 2010

Photographed at Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (04 August 2010).

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
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  Alfredo Colon
6/7/2021

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

brown stink bug  
  Alfredo Colon
6/1/2021

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

brown stink bug  
  Alfredo Colon
September 2019

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

brown stink bug  
  Luciearl
2018

Location: Cass County

brown stink bug  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 1/302020

Last Updated:

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