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Nosy
Posted by on April 27, 2010
Check out the schnozz on this guy:
Euschistus sp.
Ok, ok, it’s not a nose proper; it’s a “beak” or, more accurately, a rostrum. And it’s not for sniffing, it’s for feeding (which our friend may in fact be doing).
Another “true bug” here…BUG BUG BU… ah, well, you get the idea. This one is a Stink Bug (Pentatomidae); the rather unfortunate moniker is the result of the smelly defensive chemical they secrete from thoracic glands when they’re handled or disturbed. It’s not harmful to humans, though…just smelly. (Personally, I don’t find it all that offensive, only distinctive.)
The Stink Bug family is a mixed bag of herbivores and carnivores; some sup happily on plant juices while others prefer the innards of other insects. Pentatomids overwinter as adults under leaf litter and other insulated nooks and emerge in the spring. In my experience, this is a little early to find a stink bug out and about, but then, this has been an unseasonably early and warm April so far.
On that note, may I just say that April has a crappy sense of humour?
Like, really? Was this really necessary today? (I’d like to state for the record that just yesterday I was overheating in shorts and t-shirt and getting sunburned). This is the scene after only an hour of precipitation, and it’s coming down in droves. Ridonculous, I say. Utterly ridonculous.
Edited to add:
Thirty minutes later, and this:
Blech.
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I agree about the stinkbug smell. It’s not exactly pleasant, but the first time I was hit by a Harlequin bug I was far to concerned by how cool it looked to worry about the smell. Still amazed by how persistent the “scent” is though.. even after several hand washes it was still there.
Also… I think I actually have a little snow envy. I’d love to have a run around in that with my little boy!
Yep, the smell definitely lingers, but I really don’t mind it at all.
I’ll tell you what: you can fly over here, and take all the snow you want back with you. The only one here excited about the snow is the three-legged dog…she has been rolling and “snow-plowing” luxuriously all morning. The rest of us…well… not so happy.
Holy Cow on the snow!
Seriously!!!
OMG! The snow is hysterical. That is definitely nature’s sick sense of humor.
If by “hysterical”, you mean “blech”, then yes, it is indeed hysterical. Blech.