northeast-flora-and-fauna

I think this was a Western Leaf-footed Bug from last February. If this is correct, then this is another species of bug that's spreading eastward. An article from a century ago claims they were no closer to New Jersey than Nebraska, the Insect Identification webpage has them in Ohio, Bug Guide lists New Jersey and Massachusetts as northeastern states they're now in, and this article abstract says they could spread as effectively as the related Western Conifer Seed Bug that's known to be in this area.  You're supposed to be able to identify the Western Leaf-footed Bug by a "spike" at the front of the head. Unfortunately my picture doesn't have enough detail to tell if such a spike is there. I'm mostly basing this ID on the iNaturalist suggested ID and Penn State describing the prominent white zigzag on the back. Although they can be pests in pistachio orchards, it sounds like these bugs are fairly flexible eaters, so there could be a viable food ...

This seems to be a Western Conifer Seed Bug , and from the name you can probably guess that it's not from around here. While many invasive species are from other continents, the Western Conifer Seed Bug invaded us from closer to home: the western US. Similar to its native relative, the Leaf-footed Pine Seed Bug (aka Pine Leaf-footed Bug aka Leaf-footed Pine Bug) hinders seed production of conifers. It sounds like the WCSB may harm seed production more than the LFPSB, perhaps because as an invader it's less likely to be bothered by predators or parasites, resulting in larger and healthier populations of WCSBs. These bugs won't damage your home, but they will try and spend the winter indoors with you. It also sounds like they can be smelly if you squish them; some places suggest vacuuming them up instead. Despite this similarity to other bugs like the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug , they aren't closely related to the stink/shield bugs ; both the WCSB and the LFPSB are in th...