Subject: what is it?
Location: Jersey City, NJ 07306
July 28, 2012 6:03 pm
I FOUND THIS BUG CRAWLING ON THE WALL ON THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE. WHAT IS IT? IS IT HARMFUL? HOW DO I SEARCH TO SEE IF IT HAS FRIENDS? How do protect against it?
Signature: Hector

Ebony Bug

Hi Hector,
Formerly known as a Negro Bug, the more politically correct Ebony Bug has become the more accepted common name for insects in the family Thyreocoridae.  They are also sometimes simply called Black Bugs.  According to BugGuide, they are:  “Shiny black, broad oval, convex shape. Tibiae have no spines or slender ones. Large scutellum covers most of abdomen and wings. Look like beetles but have 5-segmented antennae and 4-segmented beak.”  BugGuide also notes:  “Common on flowers and other vegetation” and they will not harmful to your home. 

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Beetles
Location: Levant, Maine
February 11, 2012 6:48 pm
I have asked all around and no one seems to know. When I blew on them the scattered really fast.
Signature: Tammy Costain

Ebony Bugs

Dear Tammy,
You have an aggregation of Ebony Bugs in the family Thyreocoridae.  This grouping contains both red and black, wingless nymphs and black, winged adults.  We learned on BugGuide that the common family name has been changed from the politically incorrect Negro Bugs to Ebony Bugs, and that Eric Eaton and Kenn Kaufman in the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America were among the first authors who noted the change.

Close Up of Ebony Bugs

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