Megacopta cribraria, also called the Bean Plataspid, Kudzu Bug, Globular Stink Bug or Lablab Bug, is a shield bug

Shield bug

Pentatomoidea is a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order and, as such, share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts...

 native to India and China where it is an agricultural pest of Lablab beans and other legumes. The bug, while harmless to houseplants and people, often enters houses. It is attracted to white surfaces such as the walls of houses or white vehicles where large numbers of the insects congregate.

It is similar to other Plataspididae in having a somewhat unusual symbiotic

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...

 relationship with its gut bacteria. Before laying eggs, females deposit particles containing the symbiont which are then eaten by newly-hatched nymphs under natural conditions. Nymphs experimentally deprived of access to the symbiont exhibited slower growth, smaller body sizes, and higher mortality.

Southeastern United States

In the Southeastern United States

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

 M. cribraria is an introduced pest

Pest

Pest may refer to:*Pest , an animal or plant detrimental to humans or human concerns*Pest, an archaic term for pestilence, originally the Black Death*Pest , an ice hockey player specialising in aggravating opponents...

 species, first noticed in northeastern Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 in 2009. As of 2011 it was spreading rapidly into surrounding states. It gives off an offensive odor when touched or squashed. Hosted by wisteria

Wisteria

Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...

, green bean

Green bean

Green beans , also known as French beans , are the unripe fruit of any kind of bean, including the yardlong bean, the hyacinth bean, the winged bean, and especially the common bean , whose pods are also usually called string beans in the northeastern and western United States, but can also be...

s and other legumes, the insect sucks juice from the stems of soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

 plants and reduces crop yield. The insect infests kudzu

Kudzu

Kudzu is a plant in the genus Pueraria in the pea family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It is a climbing, coiling, and trailing vine native to southern Japan and southeast China. Its name comes from the Japanese name for the plant, . It is a weed that climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so...

appreciably reducing its growth.

External links and further reading

• Megacopta cribraria as a Nuisance Pest
• Species Megacopta cribraria - Bean Plataspid on Bugguide.Net
• Globular Stink Bug Invasive "Troy Bartlett's Photography Blog: Focusing on Nature's Little Wonders"

Plataspidae).]