Pentatoma rufipes- Mountain Stink Bug

One of the most pesty pests on the Appalachian Trail is the stink bug. September and October are the worst months for the hiker. The bugs are everywhere. They seem to like to stay in the shelters in very large numbers in the hundreds. In camp they like to try to attach to you everywhere. I was eating and one tried to fly into my mouth. The SB prefers to host on all wild plants. The SB likes to feast on plant seeds. They overwinter as adults and become active in the spring. The female lays several hundred eggs on leaves and stems. It takes five weeks to go from egg to adult. Birds are the SBs natural enemy. They emit an unpleasant odor which repels most enemies. I recently hiked from Caledonia State Park in Pennsylvania to Harper's Ferry and encountered hundreds of SB's along the trail. When I returned home I discovered SB's attached to my tent and auto. In the past people have used animals or parts of animals as money. The scalps of woodpeckers and the tails of giraffes have been used. Since we have so many stink bugs in the east why not use then for money. They are plentiful in Pennsylvania but absent in other places. They could be referred as to as "bug money." I think we shall have dominion over the insects.

Genesis 1:26 .......... and let them have dominion over .............every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.