NH 075
Box Elder Bugs
Category: True Bugs
Family: Rhopaliae
Details: 3 specimens
Originally these three guys each had their own Sholesonian ID number, but seeing as they are all from the exact same location and of the same species it is of the best interest to place them all under the same ID. These guys are known as Box Elder (or rather Boxelder) Bugs and their species name is Boisea trivittata. They are also known as the Zug or Maple Bug. What is funny is that they all were found between two pieces of cardboard boxes along with a ton more of them. I grabbed these three (which weren't squished) on November 15, 2010. Their location is a bit more cryptic; they were collected at the Ithaca Hospital in Ithaca, NY however they came off of a U-Haul truck that was moving equipment from another locale on the other side of Ithaca.
As you can see from the photograph, the Boxelder bugs are most recognizable by the red striped patterns they have. They feed almost exclusively on maple trees (the state tree of NY). While sometimes referred to as stinkbugs they do not actually emit a foul smelling secretion. Instead they emit some foul-tasting secretions to keep predators away (which also makes a mess when they are squished as seen from the others that were clustered with these three). They do hibernate over the winter (hence the large aggregation in the cardboard boxes) and are not agricultural problems but they can be a nuisance when they form such congregations and may bother some people.
UPDATE: Added a cool closeup of one of the bugs below. And if you want to learn more about them check Wikipedia or this Boxelder Bug informational site.
No comments:
Post a Comment