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Red and yellow insect found in kitchen in Conrad, Montana (USA)

Biology Asked on May 26, 2021

Beetle found in our kitchen in Conrad, Montana (USA) on 3/13/19:

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One Answer

This appears to be a stink bug in the superfamily Pentatomoidea of the true bugs (i.e., order Hemiptera).

Specifically, your specimen appears to be Perillus bioculatus or the two-spotted stink bug.

enter image description here

Photo Credit: Margarethe brummermann (2008)

You can see additional photos including those demonstrating the species's various yellow vs red color morphs here.

According to the Integrated Plant Protection Center at Oregon State University [my emphasis and links]:

Mature nymphs of the two spotted stink bug are about 8 to 9 mm long. Adults range in length from 10 to 12 mm. Nymphs may [be] pale yellow or reddishorange with a distinct black "Y-shaped" marking on the pronotum and two black spots on the thorax.

According to Wikipedia, this species is usually a beneficial predator (especially of the Colorado potato beetle), but early nymph stages feed by sucking on potato stems. The trade-off, I would guess, is worth it.

  • In fact, the color variation in this species (namely the shift from white/yellow to red) that my earlier link shows photos of is a result of a higher diet of potato beetles. [Source, taken from p 99 in McPherson's 1992 book The Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera) of Northeastern North America].

enter image description here

Source: bugguide.net

Their range, according to bugguide.net is southern Canada, the U.S. and into Mexico.

Answered by theforestecologist on May 26, 2021

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