Stink BugIdentification, facts & practical guidance

Identification and lookalikes

Look for the shieldlike outline and a triangular plate between the wing bases. Color alone does not distinguish a crop-feeding species from a predatory one. Leaf-footed bugs and other true bugs can be mistaken for stink bugs.

Plant feeder or predator?

Diet varies across the family. Damage on fruit or foliage needs an identification of the insect actually feeding there. A brown marmorated stink bug entering a home is also a different issue from a garden feeding problem.

What to do next

Photograph antenna and body markings and record the plant or indoor location. Seal entry gaps for seasonal indoor visitors and avoid crushing them, which releases odor.

Stink Bug: species profiles

Explore 217 species profiles covered by this guide, with recorded names and available photos.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Halyomorpha halys

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Common Green Shieldbug

Palomena prasina

Green Stink Bug

Chinavia hilaris

Southern Green Stink Bug

Nezara viridula

Hairy Shieldbug

Dolycoris baccarum

Red-legged Shieldbug

Pentatoma rufipes

Harlequin Bug

Murgantia histrionica

Brassica Shieldbug

Eurydema oleracea

Wee Harlequin Bug

Cosmopepla lintneriana

red cabbage bug

Eurydema ornata

Brown Stink Bug

Euschistus servus

Bishop's Mitre Shieldbug

Aelia acuminata

Showing 12 of 217 species. Browse all in Hemiptera →