Red Cross Shield Bug
Rosie found this moderately colorful true bug out back somewhere on July 22, 2014.
While it looks a bit like a standard stink bug (aside from the reddish-brown cross-like markings on its back), it turns out to actually be a Red Cross Shield Bug, Elasmostethus cruciatus.
Shield bugs used to be considered a subfamily of stink bugs, but were eventually spun off as their own family. They are plant-juice feeders, as we can see from this one’s long, thin proboscis (predatory bugs tend to have a much more robust proboscis).
This particular species feeds on juices from alders, which we have in some profusion out west of the house.
The shield bugs in general are more of an old-world family, with only a few species in North America. But, the red cross shield bugs don’t seem to be invasives. They are a cold-tolerant species that spread all around the northern hemisphere on their own (along with their host plant) when the land bridges opened up during the ice ages.
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