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Sticker of Green stink bug
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Green stink bug

Chinavia hilaris
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The green stink bug is a bright green bug shaped like a shield, with a thin yellow or orange edge. When something bothers it, it lets out a really bad smell. That stinky trick keeps hungry animals away.

Lives in
North America, in gardens, orchards, woods and fields
Length
1.3 to 1.8 cm (0.51 to 0.71 in)
Top speed
about 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting, it just smells bad if you pick it up.
What does it eat?
It pokes plants with its needle-like mouth and drinks their juices. It loves young seeds, so it can harm tomatoes, beans, peas and fruit trees.
For real!Photo of Green stink bug
Picture by Susan Ellis,. CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Green stink bug about 1.8 cm long (0.71 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 3 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 15 seconds

How big is Green stink bug compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its stink comes from big glands underneath its body. Even the babies have them.

2

Long ago, its dried stinky liquid was used in factories to make some acids smell stronger.

3

Its eggs look like tiny barrels, laid in neat double rows, usually about 14 together.

4

The eggs change colour from light green to yellow to light pink just before they hatch.

5

The babies are brightly coloured and striped, and turn green as they grow up.

you asked

Most asked questions about Green stink bug

?Why do stink bugs smell?

When they are disturbed, they squirt a smelly liquid from glands on their belly to scare away enemies.

?Is the green stink bug harmful?

Not to people. But it sucks juice from crops like tomatoes, beans and peaches, so farmers do not like it.

?How big is a green stink bug?

About 1.3 to 1.8 centimetres long.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Chinavia hilaris
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Pentatomidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Green soldier bug

Where the facts come from

  1. Green stink bug (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Susan Ellis,. CC BY 3.0 us, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

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