Posted in Autumn, Bugs, Insects, Nature, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Euthyrynchus floridanus, Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on September 12, 2024| 7 Comments »
On Monday I spotted these cool-looking black- and-red beetles at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I think that they are immature Florida Predatory Stink Bugs (Euthyrhynchus floridanus), a species considered to be beneficial, because its diet consists of many species of pest insects. The nymphs of this species go through five stages (instars) in their growth process and I believe these bugs are in one of the later stages of development.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Euthyrynchus floridanus, Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, stink bug, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 2, 2023| 8 Comments »
As I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Friday, I spotted some colorful red and black bugs. I had no idea what they were, but I happened to be walking with a fellow dragonfly enthusiast and he told me that they were Florida Predatory Stink Bugs (Euthyrynchus floridanus).
Unlike most other stink bugs that feed on plants, Florida Predatory Stink Bugs feed on insects that attack plants and are therefore considered to be beneficial. According to the North Carolina Extension website, “Immature Euthyrhynchus have a strong tendency to aggregate, and they even attack larger prey in concert. Apparently, aggregation behavior allows them to successfully attack prey too large to be subdued by a single nymph. Sometimes adults aggregate with nymphs, although when times get hard, these bugs sometimes feed on smaller relatives! When the bugs jab their proboscis into a less fortunate insect, they inject a toxin that slowly immobilizes the prey. The predigested insides are then sucked out.”
When they are developing, these stink bugs go through five stages, known as instars. The two largest bugs in the photo below are adults, while the two in the middle are in some what earlier stages of development. I don’t know for sure what this group of bugs was doing, but wonder if there is some kind of prey beneath them that they are immobilizing together.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 