Subject: What is it?
Location: California
November 25, 2013 2:34 pm
I know it’s a type of beetle but which one? I found two. I suspect they are kissing bugs. Pest control came by did an analysis on the sample and claimed common garden beetle but it doesn’t look like one.
Signature: Clueplease
Dear Clueplease,
Your pest control guy does not know his bugs very well, because he is wrong, but so are you. These are not beetles. Both are True Bugs, so if we were awarding points to the person who was more correct, that would be you because Kissing Bugs are also True Bugs in the order Hemiptera. The dead black bug with the border is a Say’s Stink Bug, Chlorochroa sayi, and it poses no harm to you or your home. See BugGuide to confirm our identification. The other bug is a Western Conifer Seed Bug or a closely related member of the genus Leptoglossus. Both Stink Bugs and Conifer Seed Bugs have been known to seek shelter indoors when the weather turns cooler. They seek a sheltered place to hibernate, and they will not harm your home, but if the are plentiful, they may become a nuisance.
I live in southern Maine and never saw a Western Conifer Seed Bug until about 15 years ago. I’m ok with bugs but this one creeps me out. There must be thousands of insect species in my back yard; so how is it that these bugs seem to be the only ones who know that the house will be warm all winter and that the way in is through the windows and doors? They fill the bedrooms upstairs somehow squeezing in between the wall and window frame. Every night we get rid of them and the next day there are more. I’ve seen them as late as November.