Uhler Stink Bug: Appearance, Territory, Damage and Life

Latin name: Chlorochroa Uhleri

Appearance: Uhler’s stink bug, Chlorochroa uhleri, belongs to the Pentatomidae family of stink bugs. It can be found in both Central and North America. The body of Uhler’s stink bug is shield-shaped. Green stink bugs (Acrosternum Hilare), which have a red, orange, or yellow outer edge, and Say stink bugs (Chlorochroa Sayi), which are green with a white border, are similar to Uhler’s stink bug (Chlorochroa Uhleri). Uhler’s stink bugs are slightly larger than other species of stink bug. The outer band of Uhler’s stink bugs may also turn a dustier green, almost brown, and the outside band may become practically white.

Hosts Plants: Nectarines, pistachios, and tomatoes, as well as seeds, grain, various fruits and vegetables, ornamental plants, legumes, and tree leaves, are all susceptible to Uhler’s stink bugs.

Territory: Uhler’s stink bug, Chlorochroa uhleri, belongs to the Pentatomidae family of stink bugs. It can be found in both Central and North America.

Damage Caused:  

Stink bugs do not hurt or bite, and they do not cause structural damage to homes. To avoid predators, stink bugs produce foulsmelling compounds. Other compounds are emitted to attract other stink bugs. Farmers are concerned about the existence of this stink bug because it feeds on a variety of high-value crops and decorative plants in its juvenile and adult phases. In the mid-Atlantic region, they cause significant economic damage to fruit, vegetable, and field crops. Fruit is eaten by Uhler’s stink bugs by penetrating the surface and swallowing the syrupy delicious fluid. Those feeding areas may appear to be tiny, translucent blue-green dimples at first. When you cut into the fruit, you’ll notice that it’s converted into a greyish white pithy tissue that doesn’t look particularly delicious. These pests can also spread tomato bacterial spot and serve as entrance points for other insects and diseases.

Life Cycle and habits: There are three phases in the stink bug life cycle: egg, nymph, and adult. The nymph stage begins once the eggs hatch. These juvenile nymphs are the same color and shape as adult nymphs, but they are much smaller. Molting is the term for this procedure. Stink bug nymphs can molt up to five times before reaching adulthood.

The life cycles of the various stink bug species are all very similar. As adults, they spend the winter under leaves and rubbish, in plant crowns, and in clumps of grass on the orchard floor. Outside the orchard, they can be found on the crowns of plants like blackberry or in other protective areas like box stacks and buildings. Adults travel out of the orchard to suitable host plants after mating if suitable host plants are not present in the orchard. At this moment, the majority of the species are found on weeds and ground cover plants, however the green stink bug may go into trees.

Adults have 0.5-inch-long shield-shaped bodies that are brown or green with red, pink, or yellow patterns. On the leaves of broadleaf plants, barrel-shaped eggs are placed in clusters of approximately 14. When the eggs are originally laid, they are pearly white, then turn cream or pinkish soon before hatching. A row of spines encircles the top of the eggs in stink bugs, while concentric black rings encircle the tops of the eggs in other species. Early nymph stages lack wings and feature a variety of markings and patterns, but their morphology is similar to that of adults. In the fourth and fifth instars, nymphs grow large wing pads.

Adults may migrate to trees in early June to lay their eggs on the foliage. Adults from this generation eat developing fruit as well. Adults of the second generation appear in late July and early August, causing severe damage to unharvested fruit. Adults of the second-generation forage until the arrival of cooler weather, when they return to safe areas or overwintering hosts.

Female stink bugs frequently guard their eggs, which are barrel-shaped and placed in groupings known as clutches. Courtship rituals, as well as the desire to locate a warm place to overwinter, may lure these bugs out into the open.