I was gently swinging in my hammock, minding my own business, when I felt some thing sweep its long spidery legs across the back of my neck. I brushed it off and away before I could see what it was, and a mighty stink instantly arose. Some say stink bugs stink of cilantro, but I quite like cilantro, thank you very much. This smelled nothing like that to me. No, this smelled like something foul and rotten, something like a garbage-poop-dead-thing fragrance spray. I held my breath and hoped it would pass like gas, but it persisted long enough that I gave up and went inside. The odour followed me right into the shower, but happily no further. I never saw the bug that skunked me and will never know what kind it was, though by its stench I can narrow it down to a few likely suspects, pictured above. These three bugs are native to BC. The Rough Stink Bug can be distinguished from the similar-looking invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug by the lack of big white bands around its antennae and by its spiny shoulder edges. The Western Conifer Seed Bug isn’t technically a stink bug (pentatomae), but if stinky is as stinky does, then this bug fits the description, leaf-footed (coreidae) or not. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (not pictured) is invasive in BC and has been spotted throughout the province since about 2015. This is bad news, not least because of the damage they can cause agricultural crops. If you find one in BC (outside of Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, where they are known to be common), please send a picture of it to the Ministry of Agriculture (contacts and more information at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/animals-and-crops/plant-health/insects-and-plant-diseases/tree-fruits/brown-marmorated-stink-bug). - Tarah Reesor, West Kootenay Naturalist
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West Kootenay Naturalists' AssociationTo know nature and keep it worth knowing. Archives
June 2023
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