Dusky Stink Bug

You might remember that I fed a Dusky Stink Bug (Euschistus tristigmus) to Wallis, the Daring Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) that used to live in the post of our front porch railing. At the time I wanted to focus on the spider, but now I'll devote a post to the Stink Bug.

Though the Dusky Stink Bug resembles the other members of Euschistus, it's distinctive due to the row of black spots down the midline of the abdomen, seen here:

A female being dragged by Wallis into her lair.

Of the two subspecies, E. t. luridus and E. t. tristigmus, the latter is found in the South. Dusky Stink Bugs can cause considerable damage to crops such as fruit. Their predators include parasitic wasps and Tachinid flies.

Here is a female specimen on Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis):

References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/122581
http://www.americaninsects.net/ht/euschistus-tristigmus.html
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=2135008 (female vs. male, abdominal view)
http://www.forestryimages.org/series/viewseries.cfm?ser=69 (photos of eggs, nymphs, & adults)
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/7963737