Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Clickable Guide

Interactive image map to choose major taxa Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Genus Podisus

Representative Images

Stink Bug sp. - Podisus brevispinus Stink bug 10.06.13 - Podisus maculiventris - female Predatory Stink Bug - Podisus brevispinus Stink bug - Podisus maculiventris - female eggs - Podisus Two-spotted Stink Bug Nymph? - Podisus maculiventris Arizona True Bug for ID - Podisus Nymph, Podisus maculiventris? - Podisus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily Pentatomoidea
Family Pentatomidae (Stink Bugs)
Subfamily Asopinae (Predatory Stink Bugs)
Genus Podisus

Other Common Names

Spined Soldier Bug

Explanation of Names

Podisus Herrich-Schaeffer 1851

Numbers

6 spp. in our area(1), 34 total(2)

Identification

keys to spp. in (1)(3)
key to some nymphs in (4)

Range

primarily neotropical; in our area, 4 spp. are widespread, P. sagitta is restricted to s.FL & s.TX, and P. neglectus is strictly eastern(1)

Food

various arthropods, especially larval Lepidoptera & Coleoptera. Examples

Life Cycle

Eggs Eggs and first instar
4th instar light nymph 5th instar light nymph
4th instar dark nymph 5th instar dark nymph
Female laying eggs

Remarks

P. maculiventris (the most common species in se. US) is marketed as a pest control agent

See Also

Euschistus

Works Cited

1.The Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of North Dakota I: Pentatomomorpha: Pentatomoidea
Rider D.A. 2012. Great Lakes Entomol. 45: 312‒380.
2.Rider D. (2006-) Pentatomoidea home page
3.An updated synopsis of the Pentatomoidea (Heteroptera) of Michigan
Swanson D.R. 2012. Great Lakes Entomol. 45: 263‒311.
4.A key to nymphs of four species of the genus Podisus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) of northeastern North America
Evans E.W. 1985. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 87: 94–97.
Contributed by Cotinis on 9 July, 2004 - 7:03am
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, john and jane balaban, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 19 July, 2025 - 4:20pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact