What Do Stink Bugs Eat?

Stink bugs, also known as shield bugs, belong to the family Pentatomidae and are primarily herbivorous insects. Their diet consists of various plant materials, and their feeding habits can have economic implications for agriculture. Stink bugs feed on a wide range of crops, fruits, and vegetables, making them significant agricultural pests. Their diet typically includes:

Fruits: Stink bugs are known to feed on a variety of fruits, including apples, peaches, cherries, and pears. They pierce the fruit's skin with their specialized mouthparts and suck out the juices, leaving behind small, discolored, and damaged areas.
Vegetables: Stink bugs also feed on vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and beans. They can cause cosmetic damage and reduce the overall quality of the crop.
Crops: Stink bugs can damage various crops, including soybeans, corn, and cotton. They puncture the plant's tissue and extract sap, which can lead to yield losses and reduced crop quality.
Ornamental Plants: Some stink bug species may also feed on ornamental plants, causing aesthetic damage in gardens and landscapes.

These insects use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract plant juices, and while they primarily feed on plant matter, they can sometimes be opportunistic feeders, consuming other insects or decaying organic matter if the opportunity arises. Controlling stink bug populations is essential in agriculture to mitigate crop damage and maintain plant health.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Plants?

Stink bugs eat plants as part of their natural feeding behavior, which is influenced by their biology, physiology, and ecological role. There are several reasons why stink bugs, as herbivorous insects, consume plant matter:

Nutritional Requirements: Stink bugs require specific nutrients for their survival and reproduction. They obtain essential nutrients, such as sugars, amino acids, and vitamins, from the plant juices they feed on. These nutrients are necessary for their growth, development, and reproduction.
Energy Source: Plants provide a readily available source of energy in the form of sugars, which stink bugs can extract by piercing plant tissues and feeding on the sap. This energy is vital for their daily activities and life processes.
Protection and Defense: Some plants have developed chemical defenses against herbivorous insects. Stink bugs, however, have evolved mechanisms to cope with or neutralize these chemical defenses. They are often resistant to plant toxins and can feed on a wide range of host plants, making them adaptable to various environments.
Reproduction: Female stink bugs require specific nutrients for producing and laying eggs. By feeding on plants, they can acquire these nutrients and ensure the successful development of their offspring.
Ecological Role: Stink bugs play a role in ecosystems as part of the food web. They serve as a food source for various predators, including birds, insects, and spiders. By consuming plants, they become a link in the complex web of interactions within their habitats.

While stink bugs primarily feed on plants, they can also opportunistically feed on other insects, fruits, and organic matter. Their ability to adapt to different food sources can make them challenging agricultural pests, as they may damage a wide range of crops and plants. Efforts to manage stink bug populations often focus on minimizing their impact on agriculture and ecosystems.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Fruit?

Stink bugs are notorious for feeding on a wide range of fruits, especially those with soft skins and juicy tissues. They use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to puncture the fruit and extract sap, which often causes deformities, discoloration, or sunken spots. Some of the fruits they are most likely to target include:

Apples: Stink bugs pierce the skin, leaving small, dark, sunken spots that can ruin marketability.
Peaches and nectarines: Soft-skinned fruits are very susceptible; feeding can cause scarring and pitting.
Pears: Similar to apples, feeding causes discolored or corky areas on the fruit surface.
Tomatoes: Both field and greenhouse tomatoes can be affected, with feeding causing cloudy spots under the skin.
Berries: Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries can be punctured, leading to rot or cosmetic damage.
Citrus fruits: Oranges, lemons, and grapefruits can be fed upon, particularly when the fruit is still ripening.
Grapes: Feeding can deform berries and introduce secondary infections.
Stone fruits in general: Cherries, plums, and apricots are vulnerable to puncture marks and surface blemishes.

Stink bugs are most active in late summer and early fall when these fruits are ripening. They tend to feed in clusters, which can amplify damage and make the fruit unsellable.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Vegetables?

Stink bugs feed on a wide variety of vegetables, targeting those with soft tissues or developing seeds. Their piercing-sucking mouthparts allow them to damage the plant by extracting sap, which can cause deformities, discoloration, and reduced yields. Vegetables most commonly affected include:

Tomatoes: Both field and greenhouse varieties are highly susceptible; feeding creates cloudy, sunken spots under the skin and may cause internal tissue damage.
Peppers (bell peppers, chili peppers): Feeding leads to pitting, discoloration, and misshapen fruit.
Beans (snap beans, lima beans, soybeans): Stink bugs feed on pods, causing shriveled seeds, browning, or distorted pods.
Corn: Particularly on developing ears; feeding can damage kernels and reduce yield.
Cucumbers, squash, and melons: Soft-skinned vegetables are vulnerable to punctures, scarring, and secondary infections.
Eggplants: Feeding can leave small puncture marks and deformed fruit.
Okra: Pods can become shriveled or discolored.
Leafy greens (less common): While they generally prefer fruits or pods, they may feed on tender leaves if other food sources are limited.

Feeding typically occurs in clusters, and late summer to early fall is when stink bugs are most active in vegetable crops. Damage not only reduces marketability but can also open entry points for fungal or bacterial infections.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Seeds?

Yes, many stink bugs do feed on seeds, especially those that are soft or still developing. Their piercing-sucking mouthparts allow them to penetrate pods or seed heads and extract the nutrient-rich contents. This is particularly common in legumes and grains:

Beans and peas: Stink bugs often feed directly on the developing seeds inside pods, causing shriveled, discolored, or misshapen seeds.
Soybeans: Seed feeding can significantly reduce yield and quality; pods may appear distorted or contain fewer viable seeds.
Corn: Some species pierce developing kernels, leading to kernel deformation and lower grain weight.
Sunflower seeds and other oilseeds: Stink bugs may attack the developing seeds inside the flower head.

Seed feeding is one reason stink bugs are considered major agricultural pests. Damage not only reduces yield but can also affect germination rates and the marketability of crops.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Insects?

Predatory stink bugs feed on a variety of soft-bodied insects, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to inject digestive enzymes and consume the liquefied tissues. While most stink bugs are herbivorous, a few species—particularly in the Podisus, Perillus, and Euthyrhynchus genera—are active predators. The insects they are most likely to eat include:

Caterpillars: Larvae of moths and butterflies, which are common crop pests.
Beetle larvae: Soft-bodied stages of pests like Colorado potato beetles or Japanese beetles.
Aphids: Small, soft-bodied bugs that feed on plant sap.
Leafhoppers and planthoppers: Common in fields and gardens.
Lacewing larvae and other insect larvae: Opportunistic feeding on easily subdued prey.
Other small, slow-moving insects: Occasionally other soft-bodied adults, such as immature stink bugs or small flies, though this is less common.

Predatory stink bugs are valuable for biological control because they reduce populations of pest insects while avoiding harm to the plants themselves. They tend to prefer larvae over adult insects because soft-bodied prey is easier to pierce and digest.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Aphids?

Yes, some stink bugs do eat aphids—but it depends on the species. Most stink bugs, like the common brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), are plant feeders and won’t touch aphids. Predatory species, however, such as the spined soldier bug (Podisus maculiventris), actively hunt soft-bodied insects including aphids, caterpillars, and beetle larvae. They use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to inject digestive enzymes into the aphid, liquefying its body so they can consume it.

So, while stink bugs are often thought of as plant pests, predatory stink bugs can be beneficial in controlling aphid populations in gardens and crops.

Do Stink Bugs Eat Ladybugs?

Yes, certain predatory stink bug species can eat ladybugs, but it’s not a common occurrence. Most stink bugs are herbivorous and wouldn’t attack a ladybug. However, the predatory species—like the Podisus maculiventris (spined soldier bug)—will feed on soft-bodied insects and insect larvae. Ladybugs have hard, chemically defended bodies, so they’re not the easiest prey, but a hungry predatory stink bug can pierce them with its mouthparts and feed if the opportunity arises.

Stink bugs eating ladybugs is possible but uncommon, mostly limited to the predatory stink bugs, not the plant-feeding ones.

What Do Stink Bugs Eat In Winter?

Stink bugs enter a period of dormancy during the winter months, known as diapause. During this time, their metabolic activity decreases, and they become less active. Since stink bugs are primarily herbivorous and feed on plant materials, their food sources become limited during the winter when most plants are not actively growing and producing sap or fruit. Consequently, stink bugs do not have a readily available food source during the winter.

Instead, stink bugs rely on stored energy reserves to sustain themselves through the winter months. They may find sheltered locations, such as inside buildings or beneath tree bark, to conserve energy and avoid harsh weather conditions. Stink bugs can enter a state of torpor, where their metabolic rate drops significantly, allowing them to survive without food for an extended period.

While in diapause, stink bugs primarily subsist on the energy reserves accumulated during the warmer months when they were actively feeding on plants. They are not actively foraging for food during the winter, and their focus is on survival and conserving energy until the arrival of spring when they become more active and resume their herbivorous feeding habits.