Where is the black stink bug's pale spot?

At the tip of the shield (scutellum)

What does the black stink bug eat?

Mostly plant juices, sometimes insect larvae

Where do adults spend the winter?

In leaf litter around and under logs

What does the Latin word punctulatus mean?

Having small spots or punctures

Black Stink Bug

Proxys punctulatus

The black stink bug (Proxys punctulatus) is a shield-shaped true bug in the stink bug family, Pentatomidae. It lives from the south-eastern United States through Mexico and Central America to Brazil and the Caribbean. Adults are 11–13 mm long and black, with sideways-pointing shoulder spines and a pale spot at the tip of the shield. It mostly sucks plant juices but sometimes attacks insect larvae, and unlike other North American stink bugs it lays its eggs one or two at a time.

Also known as Black stinkbug

Black stink bug abilities

3 main chemicals in a cousin's smell
Like most true bugs, it can release a strong-smelling liquid from its scent glands. Scientists see this as a defence against predators and germs, not a weapon.
- Adults use a scent gland in the thorax; nymphs use glands on the back of the abdomen. Both are a hallmark of true bugs.
- In the brown marmorated stink bug the smell is mainly three chemicals, a mix typical of many true bugs. Nobody has analysed the black stink bug's own recipe.
- Fine grooves next to the gland opening wick the liquid to a patch where it evaporates.
- Crushed stink bugs smell strongly, so the best plan is to leave them alone.
Sources [5, 6, 8, 10]
Plants + larvae part-time predator
The black stink bug mostly sucks juice from plants, but it can also push its beak into insect larvae. The model shows a caterpillar.
- It has been collected on cotton, soybean and citrus, and is linked with dayflowers (Commelina).
- It has been found attacking insect larvae in cotton. How often it hunts is not known.
- A Kentucky checklist lists it as a plant feeder and a facultative (part-time) predator.
- In the stink bug family, the full-time hunters (Asopinae) evolved from plant-feeding ancestors. Part-timers like this one mix both diets.
Sources [1, 2, 11]
1–2 eggs laid at a time
Most stink bugs glue their eggs down in tidy clusters. The black stink bug usually lays its eggs one at a time, sometimes in pairs.
- This is unusual: all other North American stink bugs lay their eggs in clusters.
- Each egg is white, slightly oval and about 1.05 mm long.
- Tiny Trissolcus wasps lay their own eggs inside stink bug eggs: the samurai wasp in brown marmorated stink bug eggs, Trissolcus basalis in southern green stink bug eggs. We found no record of them in black stink bug eggs.
- Its cousin the spined soldier bug lays clusters of 17 to 70 eggs.
Eggs laid in one batch
Black stink bug1–2
Brown marmorated stink bug20–30
Spined soldier bug17–70
Bars show the top of each range.
Sources [1, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15]
5 nymph stages
A nymph has no wings. It grows by moulting its skin five times, darkening from see-through brown to black.
- Nymphs pass through five stages (instars). Size, pitting, antenna segments and the shape of the thorax change at each step.
- In the lab, the stages lasted about 5, 7, 7.5, 9 and 16 days.
- From egg to adult took about 54 days in all.
- In stink-bug relatives, the adult's scent-gland opening forms quickly, during the final moult.
Days in each nymph stage (lab)
Stage 15.1 days
Stage 27.2 days
Stage 37.6 days
Stage 49.3 days
Stage 515.9 days
Reared on spiderwort at a constant temperature.
Sources [1, 5, 16]
3 clues spot, spines, pointed head
To tell a black stink bug from other dark bugs, look for a pale spot at the tip of the shield, sideways shoulder spines and a pointed head.
- The spot is described as yellow in one guide and white in another.
- The black-and-orange harlequin bug has rounded shoulders with no spines.
- The spined soldier bug is mottled brown, not black.
Sources [1, 2, 15]
Leaf litter where adults spend winter
Black stink bugs spend the winter as adults, tucked into forest leaf litter around and under logs.
- In an Illinois study, adults came out in June and began laying eggs one to two weeks later.
- It is still unclear whether there are one or two generations a year.
- Across the US, people record adults in every month, with most records in June and July.
Sources [1, 17]
≈2 km a cousin's average flight in 22 h (lab)
Adult stink bugs have wings and fly; nymphs only grow wing pads. Nobody has measured how far a black stink bug flies.
- In the spined soldier bug, the wing pads are most prominent in the last nymph stage.
- On flight mills, brown marmorated stink bugs flew on average about 2.4 km (males) and 2.1 km (females) in 22 hours.
- Most of those bugs (89%) flew less than 5 km.
- These are family-level numbers: the black stink bug's flight has not been studied.
Sources [15, 18]
Untested warning-colour ideaStill debated
Its black body and pale spot stand out rather than blend in. Experts suggest the look may warn birds that it tastes bad, but nobody has tested it.
- This idea is called aposematism: bright or bold colours that advertise a bad taste.
- Some predatory stink bugs are also black and can stab with a strong beak, so the colour might also help birds avoid it.
- Its spiky shoulders are part of the same look. No experiment has checked whether they protect it.
Sources [1, 2]

Tap a pin on the model or a part below.

1 pale spot at the tip
- The large, rounded triangle on its back is the scutellum. A big scutellum of this shape is a feature of the stink bug family.
- The tip of the scutellum carries a pale spot, described as yellow in one guide and white in another. It is the easiest way to recognise the species.
- The rest of the upper side is black.
Sources [1, 2]
Sideways spine direction
- The front corners of the thorax (the humeral angles) end in sharp spines that point out to the sides.
- Identification keys use these spines: the black-and-orange harlequin bug, for example, has rounded shoulders without spines.
- Nobody has tested whether the spines help to defend it.
Sources [1, 2]
Pointed head tip
- Its head is pointed. The middle plate at the front (the tylus) is sharp, bends upwards and sticks out well past the side plates.
- Experts use this pointed head tip, together with the shoulder spines and the pale spot, to tell it from other stink bugs.
Sources [1]
Pierce + sip how it feeds
- Stink bugs do not chew. They feed through a beak that holds fine, needle-like stylets.
- Recordings of another stink bug show the stylets probing into plant tissue, with saliva flowing, before the bug sucks food up.
- The black stink bug sucks plant juices and sometimes attacks insect larvae.
- Full-time predatory stink bugs (subfamily Asopinae, more than 300 species) have a thicker beak that can swing fully forward. The black stink bug belongs to a different subfamily.
Sources [1, 2, 3, 4]
5 segments each
- Like other stink bugs, it has antennae made of five segments.
- In nymphs, the lengths of the antenna segments change from stage to stage, which helps scientists tell the five stages apart.
Sources [1, 2]
6 black-and-cream legs
- Its six legs are black and cream.
- Each foot has three segments (tarsi), a feature of the stink bug family.
- It walks over flower heads and leaves of plants at the edges of lowland woods, where it feeds.
Sources [1, 2]
2 kinds nymph glands, adult gland
- Adult true bugs make their smell in a scent gland in the thorax (the metathoracic gland). Nymphs use different glands on the back of the abdomen.
- Tiny grooved channels beside the gland opening guide the liquid to a patch where it evaporates.
- In stink bugs studied so far, the smell is a mix of chemicals such as tridecane and (E)-2-decenal. The black stink bug's own mix has not been analysed.
Sources [5, 6, 7, 8]
11–13 mm adult body length
- The whole adult is 11 to 13 mm long, from the pointed head to the tip of the abdomen.
- In nymphs the scent glands sit on the upper side of the abdomen. A southern green stink bug nymph, for example, has three of them.
- Females lay their eggs one or two at a time, not in the neat clusters of other North American stink bugs.
Sources [1, 2, 5, 9]

Real black stink bugs

Photos from Wikimedia Commons. Some show the spined soldier bug, a cousin, for comparison.

AdultBlack and 11–13 mm long, with sideways shoulder spines, a pointed head, black-and-cream legs and a yellowish-white spot at the tip of the shield.Spends winter in leaf litter; active from June in IllinoisRock Creek Park, Washington, DC, August 2014. Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY 2.0
AdultBlack and 11–13 mm long, with sideways shoulder spines, a pointed head, black-and-cream legs and a yellowish-white spot at the tip of the shield.Spends winter in leaf litter; active from June in IllinoisAn adult black stink bug. Photo: Frank Peairs, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 US
AdultBlack and 11–13 mm long, with sideways shoulder spines, a pointed head, black-and-cream legs and a yellowish-white spot at the tip of the shield.Spends winter in leaf litter; active from June in IllinoisAn adult, photographed for the US Agricultural Research Service. Photo: Louis Tedders, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 US
AdultBlack and 11–13 mm long, with sideways shoulder spines, a pointed head, black-and-cream legs and a yellowish-white spot at the tip of the shield.Spends winter in leaf litter; active from June in IllinoisBird Rookery Swamp, Collier County, Florida, December 2016. Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0
AdultBlack and 11–13 mm long, with sideways shoulder spines, a pointed head, black-and-cream legs and a yellowish-white spot at the tip of the shield.Spends winter in leaf litter; active from June in IllinoisJune 2014. Photo: xpda, CC BY-SA 4.0
AdultBlack and 11–13 mm long, with sideways shoulder spines, a pointed head, black-and-cream legs and a yellowish-white spot at the tip of the shield.Spends winter in leaf litter; active from June in IllinoisShared on iNaturalist, December 2022. Photo: Andrew Durso, CC BY 4.0
Spined soldier bug (cousin)A mottled brown predatory stink bug, males about 11 mm long (females slightly larger), with a sharp spine on each shoulder.A full-time hunter: 90 prey species recordedThe cousin: a spined soldier bug attacking a catalpa sphinx caterpillar. Photo: Lacy L. Hyche, Auburn University, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 US
Spined soldier bug (cousin)A mottled brown predatory stink bug, males about 11 mm long (females slightly larger), with a sharp spine on each shoulder.A full-time hunter: 90 prey species recordedSpined soldier bug, October 2024. Photo: Fernando Tessaroli Brandl, CC0
EggsWhite, slightly oval eggs about 1.05 mm long. The black stink bug lays them one at a time or in pairs, unlike most stink bugs, which lay neat clusters.Hatch in about 9 days (lab)A spined soldier bug egg mass: the family's usual cluster. Black stink bugs lay eggs one or two at a time.. Photo: Rsbernard, CC BY-SA 4.0
A spined soldier bug nymph, for comparison. We found no free photo of a black stink bug nymph.Photo: Russ Ottens, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 US

Black stink bug by the numbers

Measured in the field and the lab, plus record counts from GBIF and iNaturalist (October 2026).

Length: 11–13 mm; adults, head to tail⁠[1, 2, 10]; Black stink bug13 mmBrown marmorated stink bug17 mm
Egg size: 1.05 mm; egg length; about 0.96 mm wide⁠[1, 10]; Black stink bug egg1.05 mmBrown marmorated stink bug egg1.6 mm
Eggs per batch: 1–2; eggs laid at a time; other North American stink bugs lay clusters; A spined soldier bug lays up to 70 in one mass⁠[1, 15]
Hatching time: 9 days; lab average, 9.04 days⁠[16]
Nymph stages: 5; moults before adulthood⁠[1]
Egg to adult: ≈54 days; whole development in the lab⁠[1, 16, 15]; Black stink bug54 daysSpined soldier bug (up to)38 days
Countries with records: 15; countries and territories in GBIF, from the US to Brazil⁠[17]
Public records: 4,693; GBIF records, 3,805 of them from the US (October 2026)⁠[17]
Busiest month: June; 697 US records, just ahead of July (633)⁠[17]
iNaturalist sightings: 5,592; observations shared by naturalists (October 2026)⁠[19]

Black stink bug: myth or fact?

Eight claims about the black stink bug, checked against the sources.

0 of 8 answered

“Black stink bugs lay their eggs in neat clusters, like other stink bugs.”
“The black stink bug only eats plants.”
“The black stink bug is a serious crop pest.”
“Its black colour helps it hide in the shadows.”
“When startled, it drops to the ground and plays dead.”
“Its scientific name, punctulatus, means “pointed”.”
“Stink bugs and their relatives have been smelly since the time of the dinosaurs.”
“The black stink bug lives in Canada.”

Black stink bug records

Superlatives from the black stink bug and its family.

Odd one out
1–2 eggs
Black stink bug
The only North American stink bug that does not lay its eggs in clusters.⁠[1]
Longest stage
15.9 days
Black stink bug, 5th nymph stage
The last nymph stage took longest in the lab, about three times as long as the first (5.1 days).⁠[16]
Oldest stink glands
165 million years
Fossil stink-bug relatives (Pentatomomorpha)
Jurassic fossils give the earliest evidence of scent glands in this group of true bugs.⁠[5]
Most common predatory stink bug in North America
90 prey species
Spined soldier bug
A generalist hunter recorded attacking 90 insect species from 8 orders.⁠[15]
Most records
1,357
Texas
More GBIF records of the black stink bug come from Texas than from any other state or country, ahead of Florida (1,111).⁠[17]

A life of a black stink bug

Based on an Illinois field study and lab rearing. Timing varies with place and temperature.

Winter
Under the leaves
Adults overwinter in forest leaf litter around and beneath logs.⁠[1]
June
Wake-up
Adults become active and feed on flowers and leaves at the edges of lowland woods.⁠[1]
1–2 weeks later
Single eggs
Females lay white eggs about 1 mm long, usually one at a time.⁠[1]
Day 9
Hatching
In the lab, the eggs hatched after about 9 days.⁠[16]
Days 9–38
Four early stages
The nymph moults through stages 1 to 4, which last about 5, 7, 7.5 and 9 days.⁠[16]
Days 38–54
Last nymph stage
The fifth stage is the longest, about 16 days. By now the nymph is dark, nearly black.⁠[1, 16]
Day ≈54
Adult
A final moult gives a winged adult with a pale-tipped shield. The whole cycle took about 54 days.⁠[1, 16]
Autumn
Back to the litter
Adults look for winter shelter. Whether one or two generations fit into a year is still unclear.⁠[1]

Black stink bug vs brown marmorated stink bug vs spined soldier bug

Three members of the same family, with very different lives.

Black stink bug vs brown marmorated stink bug vs spined soldier bug
	Black stink bug	Brown marmorated stink bug	Spined soldier bug
Length⁠[1, 10, 15]	11–13 mm	≈17 mm	≈11 mm (males)
Colour⁠[1, 10, 15]	Black, pale spot at the shield tip	Shades of brown	Mottled brown
Diet⁠[1, 10, 15]	Plant juices, sometimes insect larvae	Plants: fruit, crops, ornamentals	Other insects (90 species recorded)
Eggs per batch⁠[1, 10, 15]	1–2	20–30	17–70
Egg size⁠[1, 10, 15]	1.05 mm	1.6 × 1.3 mm	≈1 mm
Nymph stages⁠[1, 10, 15]	5	5	5
Home range⁠[1, 23, 15]	South-eastern US to Brazil and the Caribbean	Native to east Asia; invasive in the US	Mexico, the Bahamas and West Indies to Canada
Winter⁠[1, 10, 15]	Adults in leaf litter	Adults, often inside buildings	Adults hibernate (October–April in the north)
For farmers⁠[1, 10, 15]	Damage usually insignificant	Serious pest of fruit and crops	Helpful: eggs sold for pest control

All three belong to the stink bug family, Pentatomidae. Only the spined soldier bug is a full-time predator.

Is the black stink bug endangered?

There is no sign of it. It has never been assessed by the IUCN, and it is recorded across a huge range.

IUCN Red List

Not Evaluated (NE)

Trend unknown

It ranges from the south-eastern US through Central America to Brazil, with thousands of public records. Nobody has measured whether its numbers are changing.⁠[17, 24, 1]

Not evaluated by the IUCN (checked October 2026)

Threats

Threats not studied
We found no study of threats to the black stink bug. Experts describe its biology as not well known.⁠[1]

What’s helping

Recording it5,592
Photos on iNaturalist, shared through GBIF, show where it lives and when adults are active.⁠[19, 17]
Telling bugs apart42
Regional keys, like a 2024 guide to Kentucky's 42 stink bug species, help farmers and naturalists tell harmless or helpful bugs from pests.⁠[2]
Natural pest control
Predatory stink bugs such as the spined soldier bug are reared and sold to control pests in heated greenhouses.⁠[15]

Its cousin

Spined soldier bug (Podisus maculiventris)Not Evaluated
Not evaluated. The most common predatory stink bug in North America.⁠[25, 15]

Black stink bug quiz

Twelve questions. Every answer is somewhere on this page.

Question 1 of 12Score 0

How long is an adult black stink bug?

Black Stink Bug field notes

Diet, food web, safety and badges from the Snappit field guide.

Diet & Feeding

This bug mostly drinks plant juices through its straw-like beak, and sometimes it attacks insect larvae too!

Primary Foods

soybean
cotton
citrus
dayflowers
Foraging Method: Foraging

Ecological connections

soybeanEats
Sucks sap from soybean plants. Its numbers stay low, so the damage is usually small.

Safety

Danger 1/5 · Very low

Don't touch stink bugs, as they can release a smelly liquid when scared.

Traits

Collections

Insects

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Pentatomidae
Genus: Proxys

Sources for these black stink bug facts

25 studies and references · checked Oct 16, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How to identify Black Stink Bug?

Look for six legs, antennae, three body sections and the shape of the wings. Beetles have hardened front wings; flies have just one working pair. Tiny insects may need a close view before their group is clear. Insect Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

What is Black Stink Bug's wingspan?

15-20 mm

How big is Black Stink Bug?

11-13 mm

How long does Black Stink Bug live?

150-240 days

What does Black Stink Bug eat?

This bug mostly drinks plant juices through its straw-like beak, and sometimes it attacks insect larvae too!

Where is Black Stink Bug usually found?

Edges of lowland woods and crop fields

How many legs does Black Stink Bug have?

Is the black stink bug dangerous?

Not to people. Species accounts describe it only as a plant feeder and part-time insect hunter. Like other stink bugs it can release a strong-smelling liquid, so look but don't touch, and don't squash it. In the related brown marmorated stink bug, the smell can trigger allergies in sensitive people, and crushing bugs on bare skin can irritate it in a few people.

What does a black stink bug eat?

Mostly plant juices, sucked up through its beak. It has been found on cotton, soybean, citrus and dayflowers, and in the lab it was raised on a spiderwort. It sometimes attacks insect larvae, which makes it a part-time predator.

Why do black stink bugs smell?

Scent glands make a defensive liquid. Adult true bugs have a gland in the thorax; nymphs have glands on the back of the abdomen. In stink bugs studied so far, the smell is a mix of chemicals such as tridecane and (E)-2-decenal that helps protect them from predators and germs. The black stink bug's own mix has not been analysed.

Where do black stink bugs live?

From the south-eastern United States (North Carolina to Florida and west to Oklahoma and Texas) through Mexico and Central America to Brazil, plus Caribbean islands such as Cuba and Puerto Rico. Most records come from Texas and Florida. They feed on plants along the edges of lowland woods.

How can you tell a black stink bug from other stink bugs?

Look for a black body 11–13 mm long, sharp shoulder spines pointing sideways, a pointed head and a pale yellow-white spot at the tip of the shield. The harlequin bug, by contrast, is black and orange with rounded shoulders.

Is the black stink bug a pest?

Not usually. Its feeding can leave disfigured leaves and discoloured patches on stems, but its numbers stay low, so the damage is usually insignificant. In a study of corn fields in North Carolina, fewer than 3 were found per sampling date.

What do baby black stink bugs look like?

The young, called nymphs, have no wings. They hatch from single white eggs and pass through five stages, changing from a light, see-through brown to black. In the lab the nymph stages took about 45 days in all.

Where do black stink bugs go in winter?

Adults spend the winter in forest leaf litter around and under logs. In an Illinois study they became active again in June and started laying eggs one to two weeks later.