What are these insects? (2 photos)

[Jason Ornoff]

These guys have been all over my pumpkin vines. Are they what have been munching on the leaves? If so, what are the recommended preventions/controls? I've been grabbing them off and pinching them. They're sorta crunchy.

This guy was perched on my eggplant. Same questions- Pest? Beneficial? Any recommended controls or preventatives?

As always, any and all help & input is appreciated!

Thanks-
Jason

 

[Beth_B]

Some type of shield/stink bug, the first pic (they're mating, so you'll have more!) Not entirely sure on the second one.
http://www.gardensafari.net/english/shieldbugs.htm

Not beneficial, they eat fruit and suck the sap out of the leaves.

 

[Chuck]

These guys have been all over my pumpkin vines. Are they what have been munching on the leaves? If so, what are the recommended preventions/controls? I've been grabbing them off and pinching them. They're sorta crunchy.
View attachment 8405


This guy was perched on my eggplant. Same questions- Pest? Beneficial? Any recommended controls or preventatives?
View attachment 8406


As always, any and all help & input is appreciated!

Thanks-
Jason

Those are called leaf footed stink bugs and should be killed by any and all means possible. The adults which you photographed are not easy to kill. A strong solution of dishwashing soap will sometimes drop them in their tracks. Another good way to get them is to vacuum them up with one of those little battery powered vacuum cleaners like a Dust Buster. Spinosad will also work but the secret is get them before they hatch while still in the egg stage. Most times the eggs are on the underside of the leaves in clusters, usually first found on plants in the squash family like pumpkins. When the eggs first hatch and for about 10 days afterward the baby stink bugs all stay together. They do not look like adults at all but there will be dozens of them on the stem and underside of the leaves all together in a group. They are easy to see and kill at this time with spinosad They do not eat the leaves. They are a sucker type insect and they are most harmful when they inject their saliva into a fruit such as a tomato causing that injured spot to turn black and rot. They also suck the sap out of the leaves and invite disease.

 

[IcyBC]

I used to have these stink bugs in my garden, but not this year and I used to pick them by hand and stomped on them! This year the Japanese beetles are out of control, and I do killed them by hand too

 

[Fernsdaddy]

I used to have these stink bugs in my garden, but not this year and I used to pick them by hand and stomped on them! This year the Japanese beetles are out of control, and I do killed them by hand too

I found only 2 stink bugs this year and removed them fast, I haven't seen Japanese beetles around in about 5 years and I hope it stays that way.

 

[Jason Ornoff]

Those are called leaf footed stink bugs and should be killed by any and all means possible. The adults which you photographed are not easy to kill. A strong solution of dishwashing soap will sometimes drop them in their tracks. Another good way to get them is to vacuum them up with one of those little battery powered vacuum cleaners like a Dust Buster. Spinosad will also work but the secret is get them before they hatch while still in the egg stage. Most times the eggs are on the underside of the leaves in clusters, usually first found on plants in the squash family like pumpkins. When the eggs first hatch and for about 10 days afterward the baby stink bugs all stay together. They do not look like adults at all but there will be dozens of them on the stem and underside of the leaves all together in a group. They are easy to see and kill at this time with spinosad They do not eat the leaves. They are a sucker type insect and they are most harmful when they inject their saliva into a fruit such as a tomato causing that injured spot to turn black and rot. They also suck the sap out of the leaves and invite disease.

Is this what the eggs look like?

 

[Chuck]

Is this what the eggs look like?

View attachment 8419

NO. Those are eggs of something else, more than likely a caterpillar. Stink bug eggs are laid in a geometric pattern resembling a parallelogram usually between 20 and 50 eggs. Whatever those are smash them

 

[Jason Ornoff]

Yup... I should have ended with the fact that I already had

 

[Rachel L Helberg]

These guys have been all over my pumpkin vines. Are they what have been munching on the leaves? If so, what are the recommended preventions/controls? I've been grabbing them off and pinching them. They're sorta crunchy.
View attachment 8405


This guy was perched on my eggplant. Same questions- Pest? Beneficial? Any recommended controls or preventatives?
View attachment 8406


As always, any and all help & input is appreciated!

Thanks-
Jason

Hi Jason - I believe these are not stink bugs, but in fact squash bugs. They do looks similar, however the squash bug is a nasty critter that sucks the life out of any type of squash (mainly) - when you mentioned eggplant - same thing to them. You may see TONS of them at one time and they will be all over your plants and their fruits. We do not use chemicals on our farm/gardens at all, so we have tried lots of methods. Some people swear by sprinkling wood ash around the plant/fruit - however we found that can create and area that may not be useable for a year or 2 later (and we didn’t see much in lower bug counts?). One non-organic method that does work and works very well, is a board and a vacuum – dust buster type works well. Take the board (we use a 1” thick by about 6”wide and as long as the plant area is – ie: 1 plant may only need a 1ft long board – we plant several plants in a row so a 4-6foot long works for us.) and lay it on the ground next to your plants in the morning – leave it there over night. Next morning, very early, go out and bring your vacuum. Flip the board over and ta-da – suck those monsters up. Another method that works very well on these bugs, and a number of other bad critters is diatamatiousearth (basically it is ground up fossils). Simply sprinkle it on the ground around your plants (make sure to get all the way along the vine & under/around the fruit) – then watch the monsters disappear. They, like a lot of other bad bugs, love the stuff but cannot digest it. The only downfall to his stuff is your good bugs may like it too. We try to catch all of our praying mantis, ladybugs and lace wings and place them in a new area away from the D.earth at least until after the 1st rain. If they make their way back by then it should be ok. A great book to invest in (not that expensive) is GOOD BUG/BAD BUG by Jessica Walliser. It has all the good, bad, and ugly bugs in it with pics and great insite on dealing with them. There are not tons of critters in the book – but the most important are there, full color pics of bugs & eggs, and also some organic/natural pest controls for dealing with them (and I love the “good bug” area!). Good luck with your monsters! Happy gardening! Rachel

 

[Marck]

Both pictures show different species of Coreid True Bug, in the Family Coreidae, Order Hemiptera.

First Photo: Squash Bug (Anasa tristis)
Second Photo: Eastern Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)