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.

Circuit or section hiking/backpacking can be very rewarding. You usually do not have any time restraint and aren't forced to cover large amountd of milage. It is exiting to be able to take some of the side trails. I recently hiked a few circuit hikes just off the Skyline and Blue Ridge Drives in Virginia. I observed an abandoned copper mine, a male turkey courting his mate, a bird house in a tree in the middle of nowhere, white tail deer and a monuement to Audie Murphy.

Copper mine

Bird house just off the trail on top of Brush Mountain.

White Tailed Deer

Audie Murphy monuement (Actor and most decorated soldier in WWII)

Male turkey doing his mating dance

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they walk, and not faint.