Our Very Own Stink Bug

Green stink bug nymph, Schenley Park, 26 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 9 September 2026 Two weeks ago I found this small ornate bug on a jewelweed leaf in Schenley Park. I knew I’d seen one before but it had been several (actually 15) years. I was wracking my brain to come up with a name when, “Duh! Use Google Lens.” He’s a green stink bug nymph (Chinavia hilaris). Like other stink bugs he uses his long stylet to pierce soft plant tissues, inject his saliva containing plant-digestive enzymes, and suck the juices out of the plant. When he does this to fruits and vegetables he’s considered an agricultural pest. Fortunately he’s not invasive. In Schenley Park he chooses jewelweed but doesn’t affect the plant’s abundance. Adult green stink bugs overwinter under leaf litter and emerge in April or May. Green stink bug adult in Schenley Park, 29 Aug 2021 (photo by Kate St. John) They mate in May-June and the females lay a cluster of eggs on the undersides of leaves (May-July). The…