Who’s that bug?

October 13, 2015 • 4:22 pm

by Greg Mayer

As Jerry is about to, or has just completed, a trip from Europe over the Atlantic to North America, I thought I’d share a photo of a fellow traveler– this hemipteran, or “true bug”, that arrived today at a furniture store in Racine, Wisconsin, in a shipment of furniture from Norway.

A Norwegian hemipteran, after it's arrival in Racine, Wisconsin, USA.
A Norwegian hemipteran, after it’s arrival in Racine, Wisconsin, USA.

Although many people call all insects (and other small creatures) “bugs”, only insects of the order Hemiptera are called “bugs” by entomologists, and hence are often distinguished from hoi polloi bugs as “true bugs”. Introduced organisms of all kinds– gypsy moths, rabbits, cane toads, brown snakes, goats, etc.– can cause ecological havoc, and some, such as the zebra mussel, have, like this bug, hitched a ride on commercial shipments. I’ve seen lizards, frogs, snails, and ants that have arrived in nursery shipments. Our little friend above, however, will cause no havoc– he has been corralled, and is wending his way to me, for handing over to my department’s entomologist

Once it’s here, she’ll want to identify it, but as a Norwegian species, our local keys and ID guides might not get much past family-level identification. Are there any Norwegian or other European readers with an expertise in insects who would care to venture an identification? Please let us know in the comments.

35 thoughts on “Who’s that bug?”

    1. That one is Asian, and it is already in the U.S. But it does look like it.
      Maybe it just caught a return flight back from visiting friends in Europe..

      Reply

      1. Looks similar to stink bugs. There is a lab in my building with a warning not to come in there because of the stink bugs (the sign had more eloquent and science-y phrasing). I once found one that must’ve escaped because it was standing there sassily at the door to the outside world.

        Reply

  3. We have similar, maybe the same, bugs here in England. As a kid they were known as “Stink Bugs.” Using that name to start with it looks like a Halyomorpha halys when comparing it to other images.

    Reply

  5. From browsing Hemiptera in German, it looked similar like some I found of the family Pentatomidae. Looking that up, I came across Rhaphigaster nebulosa as an alternative to the suggestions above. Especially the one on the top caught my eye.

    Rhaphigaster nebulosa on Britishbugs

    Rhaphigaster nebulosa:: Mottled Shieldbug
    Family: Pentatomidae

    A large shieldbug which has banded antennae and distinctive dark mottled markings on the wing membrane, although these are variable in extent. May superficially resemble Dolycoris baccarum, but lacks hairs.

    Rhaphigaster nebulosa on Wikipedia

    This species reaches a length of 14 to 16 millimetres. It is coloured dirty yellowish-grey to brown with irregularly-distributed fovea on the top side of its body. The membrane of the forewings is often speckled dark brown. The lateral edge (Connexivum) of the abdomen has black and yellow markings. The antennae are ringed with black and yellow markings. On its underside, between the hips, there is a long spur.

    Reply

    2. It’s a pentatomid, so “stink bug” is the common term no matter what species. It might be Rhaphigaster. Interestingly, the term “shield bug” must have a different meaning in Europe. In the U.S., it’s a term for a subfamily with much bigger scutellae than in the photo (the plate partially covering the back of the thorax and abdomen, which is triangular in the photo) that cover almost all the back.

      Reply

      1. In German, Pentatomids are called “Baumwanze”, literally “tree-bug” and with 6,000 species they are one of the most species-rich families of insects in Europe, I learn on Wikipedia. “Shield bug”, however would be “Schildwanze” and they are another family, Scutelleridae.

        I learned that Scutelleridae were reclassified a few times until recently, and the tree was long considered to require revision, but in 2008 their monophyly was confirmed. Confusing business, these bugs.

        Besides, when it’s known that it was from Europe, and not from the American continent, then it would add another point for Rhaphigaster…

        This species is distributed throughout the Palearctic region, more commonly in the southern than in the northern parts of Central Europe, and is not known to occur in the United States

        Reply

    1. If you’re in the Toronto-Ottawa area, they may have migrated across lake Erie from northeast Ohio. They’re all over the frickin’ place here! Sorry…

      Reply

  9. Yes I almost decided for Rhaphigaster nebulosa too, but the black “festons” on the sides are splitted and look more Halyomorpha-like. Rhaphigaster has plain ones, more or less.

    Reply

  10. I live in Yakima Washington and this paticular “bug” was in sort of a swarm, coming from a Neighbors tree and landing All over the side of my House….. :O I made the mistake of squishing one or two…. ?? I won’t do that again!! But it looked EXACTLY like this bug!! I thought they were a “Box Elder”… .but either way, they are here, they are many & they are discusting!! >.<

    Reply

    1. I think there are quite a few spp of pentatomids that look quite similar to one another, especially to the layperson. 😉

      Reply

  14. Call your local USDA APHIS PPQ office. They will probably be interested in this and can send it off to an identifier.

    Reply

  15. We have a nursery rhyme in Germany: “Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer sitzt ’ne kleine Wanze…”
    How fitting for this photgraph! 😃

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *