Is this related to your October 2010 Bug of the Month?
Location: Wilmington, MA
October 30, 2010 8:56 pm
Hi!
I have seen about dozen of these bugs around my home in the past couple months. I live in Wilmington, MA. I’ve never seen anything like this before. There was a good lull between the last one I saw and the one today. I was losing hope because I would love to have this identified. This bug doesn’t stink, that I’m aware of, though we do have a dog and two cats, so I may just be blaming a stink in the house on them! This bug is slow crawling, almost like it thinks I won’t see it if it doesn’t move/moves slowly. But once I caught it, it moved much quicker. Also, one of the bugs about a month ago did fly, which scared the bejesus out of me because I wasn’t expecting it! I hope I’m not rambling too much and provided enough information! Thanks for your help!!
Signature: Christine L
Dear Christine,
You have provided a photo of a Western Conifer Seed Bug, one of the Leaf Footed Bugs in the family Coreidae. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is in the family Pentatomidae, but both families are considered True Bugs in the suborder Heteroptera. Like Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs, the Western Conifer Seed Bugs will enter homes to hibernate as the cooler weather arrives. They will not harm you, your pets or your home. They just want to come in out of the cold. The Western Conifer Seed Bug is native to the Pacific Northwest, but beginning in the 1960s, there was a significant range expansion that now includes much of Eastern North America. It is unclear if this was a natural range expansion, or if there was human intervention, or if it can be attributed to global warming. In the early twenty first century, reports began to arrive that the species was becoming established in Northern Europe.