Stink bugs, particularly the brown marmorated variety, have become annoying pests in North America since their accidental introduction to Pennsylvania from Asia in the 1990s. These insects, belonging to the family Pentatomidae, pose significant challenges to homeowners when it comes to pest control. They spread rapidly and cause extensive damage to crops and ornamental plants.Â
Adult stink bugs, along with their nymphs, feed greedily on fruits, vegetables, and other plants, leading to severe infestations that can devastate crops. Understanding their feeding habits, reproductive cycles, and the conditions that attract them is important for effective pest management.
Overwintering in warm, sheltered crevices, stink bugs emerge in spring to lay stink bug eggs, which quickly hatch into nymphs. As they grow, their distinctive antennae become more prominent, aiding in their navigation and feeding. Predatory stink bugs and other natural enemies play a role in controlling their populations, but insecticides are often necessary to manage large-scale infestations.
Homeowners and farmers struggle with these pests in large numbers as they swarm, seeking food and shelter. Many people wonder whether specific foods in their homes attract stink bugs. Curiosity about what these random bugs eat and how to get rid of them is common. Stink bugs swarm by the hundreds, sometimes even thousands, raising questions about how they find enough food to sustain their species.
In this article, I’ll discuss the diet of stink bugs and what to do to protect your plants and crops from these agricultural pests.
What Does a Stink Bug Look Like?
There are about 5,000 species of stink bugs in the world, including the southern green stink bug. Stink bugs are part of the order Hemiptera and are easily recognizable due to their distinctive shield-shaped bodies. Different species of stink bugs generally share similar life stages. Nymphs are wingless and undergo five developmental stages known as instars. Each instar lasts about one week.
Known for their unpleasant odor, they measure around 1.5 to 2 centimeters in length. Their color varies by species, with the brown marmorated stink bug featuring a mottled brown and gray appearance, while the green stink bug is bright green.
Stink bugs have six legs and two long antennae, which they use for navigation and sensing their environment. Their wings are folded over their back when at rest, giving them a triangular appearance. The underside of their bodies is usually lighter in color, and they may have various patterns and markings depending on the species.
Do Stink Bugs Bite?
Most stink bugs don’t bite humans or pets. Their mouthparts are used for piercing and sucking. They won’t pierce human skin or use blood as a food source. While some species are predatory and feed on other insects, this behavior actually helps to protect plants from other pests.
Some individuals may experience allergic reactions to the compounds released by stink bugs, with symptoms such as a runny nose or dermatitis if they come into contact with the crushed bugs. Using natural predators can be an effective strategy in managing stink bug populations where these bugs live.
How Do Stink Bugs Eat?
Many insects use different methods to eat and have a variety of feeding behaviors. Fruit flies, for example, have a distinct way of consuming food compared to regular flies.
Similarly, stink bugs have a way of eating that influences their food preferences and where they choose to live. Stink bugs feed by piercing plant tissues with their specialized mouthparts and sucking out the juices. This way of feeding helps to determine the types of plants they choose, often targeting fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants.
Needle-Like Mouthparts
Instead of having teeth like humans and animals, insects have a mouth and a system of propulsion to carry nutrients: the mouthparts.
The stink bug’s mouthparts include an appendage that pierces like a needle and sucks up nutrients directly to its head. The mouthparts of a stink bug work almost like a mix between a syringe and a straw. They pierce the outermost layer of the food item and then act as a tube that carries the food into the bug’s body.
What Do Stink Bugs Like To Eat?
Because of their unique mouthparts, stink bugs tend to prefer foods that have a hard outer layer and a soft, somewhat mushy inside.
More often than not, people will find that the stink bugs that have overtaken their homes for the winter are drawn to the fruit bowl for stone fruits. Stone fruits are classified as fruits that have pits in the middle, like peaches and nectarines.
Apples and pears are another top choice for stink bugs because of their hard outer flesh and softer, sweet inside — especially when overripe. Stink bugs also eat other insects, such as caterpillars.
Favorite Foods of Stink Bugs
The brown marmorated stink bug is considered in many parts of the United States to be a highly invasive species — particularly in areas with a heavy reliance on agriculture as a means of economic stability.
To gain a deeper understanding of which crops are vulnerable to stink bug infestations, continue reading.
Tomatoes
Because of the soft flesh on the inside of this fruit, tomatoes are a favorite for swarms of stink bugs in the wild.
They’ll routinely scope out vines where tomatoes grow and pierce through the skin with the needle of their mouthparts, creating holes and bruises in the fruits. This renders the tomatoes inedible, causing trouble for farmers.
This video highlights tips and tricks specially designed to keep stink bugs off of tomato plants.
Tree Fruits
Stink bugs, much like their preference for tomatoes, are drawn to the nutrients in tree-grown fruits due to the sweetness of their sap.
Apples, peaches, and pears — like tomatoes — bruise very easily, and farmers often throw them away after stink bug damage, which can become costly.
Ears of Corn
In the wild, stink bugs tend to congregate on the outer husks of an ear of corn, feeding through the husk itself.
They use their piercing mouth parts to suck the nutrients out of each individual kernel of corn on an ear, leaving wilted and shriveled kernels behind as they go. This means that before the corn is even harvested by the farmers growing it, it’s being decimated within its husk.
Soybeans
Much like with the destruction of corn kernels, a stink bug will use its mouthparts to puncture a soybean pod and extract digestive enzymes for nutrients.
The resulting injury to the soybean is deformation, bruising, improper growth, delayed leaf maturity, and shriveling. Farmers are forced to consider these affected soybeans as a loss to their yield, making stink bugs one of the top invasive pests in the country for crops.
Final Thoughts on the Diet of Stink Bugs
Stink bugs have a diverse diet of common crops and household fruits. Their unique feeding habits, such as piercing plant tissues and sucking out the juices, make them an alarming pest for farmers and homeowners.
Stink bugs feed on fruits such as tomatoes, apples, peaches, and pears. They enjoy the sweetness and nutrients found in these foods. They also target crops like corn and soybeans, causing significant damage by piercing the outer layers of crops, deforming and spoiling them.
These insects aren’t a danger to people or pets, but they’re a threat to household fruits and vegetables. As stink bug season ramps up, take proactive measures to protect your produce. Seal away all fruits and vegetables properly, and consider using repellents. I recommend staying vigilant and implementing these strategies to safeguard your food from these persistent pests like stink bugs.
The stink bug’s mouthparts consist of an appendage which pin-pricks like a needle and sucks up nutrients to the stink bug’s head.
The mouthparts of a stink bug work almost like a mix between a syringe and a straw. They pierce the outermost layer of the food item, then also act as a tube that carries the food into the bug’s body.
Frequently Asked Questions
What purpose do stink bugs serve?
dStink bugs play essential roles in the environment, acting as predators that control harmful insect populations and aiding in nutrient cycling. Despite becoming household nuisances when seeking warmth and feeding on crops, they also help protect crops by feeding on pests like caterpillars, beetles, and aphids.
What do stink bugs eat?
Stink bugs primarily feed on a wide variety of plants, including fruits such as apples and peaches. They enjoy vegetables like tomatoes and beans and field crops like soybeans and cotton. Stink bugs also eat ornamental plants, grasses, and other insects.
What attracts stink bugs in a home?
Stink bugs are attracted to homes seeking warmth and shelter, entering through cracks and crevices. They are also drawn to light sources such as porch lights and windows. Additionally, the presence of fruits, vegetables, and improperly sealed food can attract them indoors.
