Our crepe myrtle tree is host to several Four-humped Stink Bugs (
Brochymena quadripustulata), also called Rough Stink Bugs. This afternoon I found two mating on the trunk, while another two waited separately for their turn (or perhaps they had already mated). The smaller male on the bottom kept repositioning the female's abdomen, using his rearmost legs to make adjustments, and wiggling his body. A secure bond ensures that the mating will be successful. You can see the wing membranes are bent back to accommodate the linking of abdomens. Also, the female had her antennae folded back, while her proboscis was extended: it appeared as if she was sucking on the tree during copulation.
The name "four-humped" refers to the 4 callosities on the pronotum. Characteristics include:
- Color reddish-brown or gray, bark-like
- Juga exceed tylus, usually meet/overlap in front of it
- Blunt shoulders (corners of pronotum)
- Opening of scent gland (underside of thorax) with black "ear-like" mark
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