Bug Identification
Location: Charlotte, NC
March 30, 2012 10:38 am
Can you help us identify this little greenish looking bug we found in our home? We live near Charlotte, North Carolina. It was found yesterday, March 30, in my dad’s shirt taken straight from his dresser drawer — not outside the home.
We are especially curious since my brother, who lives in NYC where there’s obviously a severe bedbug problem, just visited us (after he has recently been exterminated for bedbugs himself). We were EXTREMELY careful to avoid him bringing them into our home (didn’t bring luggage, took a shower as soon as he got here, washed the clothes he was wearing in hot water) but I think we’re hyper-aware about any bugs we see now.
Signature: Skiddish in NC
Dear Skiddish,
Stop your fretting. This is not a Bed Bug, but it is a somewhat newly introduced exotic species from India or China that has turned up in prodigious numbers in several southern states. The Bean Plataspid or Lablab Bug feeds on kudzu, so it has no shortage of food in your area. Lablab Bugs are known to enter homes when cool weather approaches. The Digital Charleston has a nice article on the Lablab Bug.