"Ah, those flared bits on the hind legs give it away. It is a type of leaf-footed bug, or squash bug as they are sometimes called here (in the family Coreidae). That one is quite a common species in your part of the word, so it was easy to track down. It is a western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis. They are often found indoors, where they go to spend the cold periods. If it is starting to warm up in your part of the world, then that one is probably just coming out, after spending the winter in your nice warm house in a nook or cranny.
They feed on pines, and don't do any damage indoors though. They are from the USA, and have been migrating north.
They are quite harmless (unlike the assassin bugs that they resemble). Like all Coreids, they can stink though, so best not to squash it. "
The mystery of the bug has been solved.
I visited more sites and saw more bugs than I really care to think about and came up blank. Then I had a brilliant idea.
I know a entomologist. Thanks Craig. My part of the world is Canada, his is Australia. Aren't computer connections grand.
photo of said bug is in my previous post
.....
I have a head cold and I am not happy.
Dentist appointment went well. No cavities and all my fillings are intact.
5 comments:
wow. the internet is too cool!
uaughghgh! that bug is scary. did you have to get close to take that pic?
i feel sorry for bugs. i know they're mostly harmless but they still give me the willies and i invariably end up hurting them out of fright!
Used the telephoto and them cropped the shot having taken it at the highest resolution/pixel/largest (?) size.
I'd be lost without my internet. The ability to make friends with a screen and a keyboard is wonderous.
Feral Beast just had a look and pronounced it as a member of the Shield Bug family (aka the Stink Bug family).
And then proceeded to tell me, in great detail, about the multi-coloured ones he's found in our backyard.
*shudder*
My hubby thought it was a type of stink bug too....but all my internet searching was for naught. Glad you were able to name the bug! Good to know he's harmless. We don't have a lot of pine in coastal Washington, so haven't run into one of those.
So sorry about the cold....yuck. Are you sure it's not allergies? There is so much tree pollen around now...those alders are dangerous!
I had actually asked Paul if it would stink when squished but it didn't look quite like the others we've had.
Not many pine trees in our neighbourhood unless it likes the pine type shrubs.
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