Rice Stink Bug
Oebalus pugnax
Its species name 'pugnax' means combative or warlike, inspired by the sharp, forward-pointing spines on its shoulders.
- Scientific name
- Oebalus pugnax
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Hemiptera › Pentatomidae › Oebalus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Rice paddies, agricultural fields, and wild grasslands containing sedges and host grasses.
- Diet
- Herbivorous, feeding on the developing seeds of rice, wheat, sorghum, and wild grasses.
- Range
- United States, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean
- Size
- 10 to 12 mm in length
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 year
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Widespread pesticide application and agricultural habitat destruction.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans, though defensively pungent. If handled or threatened, it releases a foul-smelling chemical fluid from its thorax. Observe from any distance. If touched, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water to remove the odor.
The rice stink bug , Oebalus pugnax , is a flying insect in the shield bug family Pentatomidae native to North America that has become a major agricultural pest in the Southern United States. It has been a known pest since at least the time of Johan Christian Fabricius, who described the species in 1775.
Photo: Steve Kerr, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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