Has anyone else encountered one of these? We found one inside our new hanging drum lamp. Hugh removed the bug and started taking pictures of it to put on his Facebook page. He thought it was a Katydid.
A friend who lives upstate wrote in to say that it was a Dreaded Stink Bug or a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and to be very careful around them because if startled they can release an asolutely awful odor.
Taking pictures of it with a flash was probably not such a great idea. Apparently they can infest your home and make it a very stinky place to be. Thankfully we haven’t seen any others. Yet. Fingers crossed that we don’t.
YIKES.
update
We have been getting reports of other Brown Stink Bug sightings in Brooklyn but not as many as in some other locations where they can become quite numerous on account of having no predators and being immune to most insecticides.
We hear that it is a very bad idea to try to use a vacuum cleaner to catch them, as is squashing them on account of the smell.
Flushing them in the toilet seems to be the best way of dealing with them. Hold a piece of cardboard or paper up to them and they will hop right on to it, then carry it to the toilet and flush the the bug. This must be why they are not referred to as Smart Bugs.
from Wikipedia:
They are of the Family Pentatomidae, Greek pente meaning five and tomos meaning section, a family of insects that includes some of the stink bugs and shield bugs.
Stink bugs hibernate in the winter.
The stink bug is known as bọ xít in Vietnamese, and is featured in Vietnamese cuisine.
Why, it’s Robert!
That’s what we named this beetlebug, who kept hanging around and turning back up no matter how often I would put him into my houseplants to live happily. Don’t know why I named him Robert; maybe there were several Roberts. At least one died a natural death, and we haven’t found any lately. Glad I spared him from squashing based on his handsomeness; had no idea he was stinky!
I caught one and released it outside just last night. No stink.
Unfortunately, I too have come into contact with these dreaded creatures. I have seen more this year than in years past. The first time I saw one in the garden I thought it was a japanese beetle and killed it . Later in reading one of my gardening books I learned it was really a stink bug. The smell is definitely gross and does linger for quite a while. I was wondering if there’s any reason to their increased frequency.
Ha! Thanks for solving a mystery. I’ve spotted a few of these creatures, both inside and outside the house. I think I saw the first one last fall, and have seen them with increasing frequency, though fewer than 10 in total. Haven’t killed any — I just put them outside — and haven’t smelled any foul odors, either.
Don’t kill them by squashing them. The smell is real bad and sticks around for a long time. Instead here’s a better way
http://www.electricflyswatter.net/