# Rice Stink Bug

*Oebalus pugnax*

Its species name 'pugnax' means combative or warlike, inspired by the sharp, forward-pointing spines on its shoulders.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/2c3c5f43-6bb7-4298-abc4-6912313a3f40
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/295792
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oebalus pugnax
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/1756673/medium.jpg (Steve Kerr, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.