Photo#183849 Copyright © 2008 Deacon Hedgelon

Shield bug - Euschistus crenator

St. Pete Beach, Pinellas County, Florida, USA

October 15, 2007



Saw this little guy on a pointsettia out on the beach... same pointsettia as the one in my mason wasp photograph... I always thought they were called stink bugs... can somebody please clarify? what species is this....



Edit:

So, you're never going to believe this... I was contacted this week by a very curious party. It turns out, an agricultural specialist working for U.S. Customs and Border Protection stumbled upon two of these fairly rare insects while inspecting a commercial shipment of corn at an Arizona port of entry. The press release can be read here --> http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/09172010_2.xml I spoke with a very nice person working for Customs and Border Protection. They were very interested in where I found this specimen. I have done a bit of homework on Euschistus crenator, and it's subspecies. But it appears to me that the qualitative data outweighs the quantitative. I have not been successful in finding any other images of this insect (and neither have the CBP for they wished to use my image in a press release).. I have only managed only find two books that refer to it. Both books only mention this species briefly. I am very interested in finding out if this is indeed Euschistus crenator. I am not looking at this situation as a claim to fame or anything. But on a personal level, this sort of "geek cred" would be comparable to that of solving a Rubik's cube while reciting Pi to one hundred digits... If anybody can help verify this species, or provide sources for its identification, your help would be greatly appreciated... Thanks!