Subject: Shield bug in South Africa
Geographic location of the bug: Johannesburg South Africa
Date: 12/01/2017
Time: 02:49 PM EDT
Good day,
Please could you kindly assist. I have found these bugs infesting all my aloe plants. I cannot find them in the net. The closest bug I could find is the African painted bug. They have similar markings but are more horizontal then vertical. The bugs are about 2-5mm long. They are in huge groups and are causing substantial damage to the plants. They are only on the aloe plants.
How you want your letter signed: Thanks
Your image includes both a mature winged Stink Bug in the family Pentatomidae and immature individuals. We could not locate any matching images on iSpot. We will continue to research the identity of this Stink Bug species.
Thanks for the help. A local entomologist identified them for me. They are the 8 backed shield bug.
Update from Kevin Clark: Flaminia natalensis
Hi Daniel
https://www.inaturalist.org/
Hope this helps
Ed. Note: We are attempting to locate a second image for corroboration, and interestingly, the same image pictured on iNaturalist with the location listed as Zimbabwe is posted to Naturalista, and the map of Mexico and Central America appears. We cannot locate other images online.