Spined Soldier Bug

Podisus maculiventris — the spined soldier bug — is one of the most important PREDATORY STINK BUGS in North America and one of about 7,000 species in family Pentatomidae (the stink bugs and shield bugs). The species is widespread across all of eastern and central North America from southern Canada south through the eastern US to Mexico. Adults are 8-13 mm long, with the species' diagnostic features: typical 'shield' stink bug body shape, gray-brown to tan-yellow coloration with darker markings, and the species' distinctive POINTED 'SHOULDER' SPINES on the pronotum (the segment behind the head — the spines are sharp lateral projections that distinguish soldier bugs from related plant-feeding stink bugs). The species is unlike the more familiar plant-feeding stink bugs in NA (brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys — already in the Wild Files; southern green stink bug Nezara viridula; consperse stink bug Euschistus conspersus; many others). Where most NA stink bugs are PHYTOPHAGOUS (plant-feeding) and are major agricultural pests, spined soldier bugs and their genus Podisus are predators of soft-bodied insects — caterpillars (cabbage looper, corn earworm, fall armyworm, gypsy moth, eastern tent caterpillar, and many other lepidopteran larvae), beetle larvae (Mexican bean beetle, Colorado potato beetle, asparagus beetle larvae), and other small soft-bodied arthropods. Spined soldier bugs are one of the few NA insect predators that successfully attack heavily-defended caterpillars (including bristled caterpillars and gregarious tussock moth larvae). Hunting strategy: spined soldier bugs hunt by visual ambush — perch on plant leaves or stems, watch for caterpillar movement, then approach the prey and seize it with the strong front legs. The species inserts its long PROBOSCIS into the captured prey and INJECTS PARALYTIC SALIVA that immediately paralyzes the prey, then DIGESTIVE ENZYMES that liquefy the prey's internal tissues for sucking consumption. The species is COMMERCIALLY REARED in NA biocontrol facilities and SOLD as a beneficial natural-control agent for vegetable gardens and agricultural crops — major NA companies (Beneficial Insect Co., ARBICO Organics, others) ship eggs and adults to home gardeners and small farmers across the continent. Augmentative releases of spined soldier bugs provide effective control of caterpillar pests in greenhouse vegetable production, organic vegetable farms, and home gardens. The species is one of the foundational case studies in modern AUGMENTATIVE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL of caterpillar pests and is featured in essentially every modern textbook discussion of arthropod biocontrol. The species is harmless to humans (no medically-significant venom — though the proboscis can deliver a sharp prick if forcibly handled).