Garden pests

Stink bugs

Nezara viridula, Halyomorpha halys, Musgraveia sulciventris and related shield bugs · Insect

Also called shield bugs (UK), green vegetable bug (Australia, for Nezara viridula), southern green shieldbug (UK, for Nezara viridula).

Illustration

Beans, tomatoes, citrus, fruit trees and many vegetablesSap-sucking bugSpreads by flying adults, and (brown marmorated stink bug) hitchhiking on imported goods

Shield-shaped, sap-sucking bugs that smell when handled. They feed on beans, tomatoes, citrus and fruit, leaving pinpricks and hard, pithy patches. Hand-pick them. In Australia and New Zealand, report any brown marmorated stink bug.

How to spot it

Shield-shaped bugs about 1.2 to 2.5 cm long: bright green (the green vegetable bug has three small white spots between its shoulders), mottled brown, or large and bronze on citrus (the bronze orange bug).
Rounder, wingless young (nymphs), often in groups, green or black with white, cream, orange or red spots.
Neat rafts of barrel-shaped eggs on leaves, cream at first and turning orange before they hatch.
Pockmarks, dark pinpricks and distorted fruit, with hard, pithy flesh under the skin; shrivelled seeds in bean pods.
A foul smell when the bugs are disturbed or squashed.

Easily confused with

Native green shieldbug

In the UK, it has a dark brownish patch at the rear end and does no noticeable harm; the southern green shieldbug is green all over.

Other brown stink bugs

Brown marmorated stink bug has white bands on its antennae; similar brown stink bugs may have a banded edge to the body but no antenna bands.

Where it's a problem

Australia: The green vegetable bug, first recorded here in 1916, is found throughout the country, and the bronze orange bug feeds on citrus in coastal Queensland and New South Wales. Brown marmorated stink bug is not established. It hitchhikes on imported goods, mostly from September to April, when extra border measures apply. Report a suspected one to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.
New Zealand: Brown marmorated stink bug is not established, though it is regularly caught at the border. If you think you've found one, catch it and report it to the Ministry for Primary Industries on 0800 80 99 66.
United Kingdom: The native green shieldbug is harmless. The southern green shieldbug, the same species as Australia's green vegetable bug, has been established in England since 2003 and can mark beans and tomatoes, but large numbers usually appear only from August, when damage is slight.
North America and Europe: Brown marmorated stink bug, from East Asia, is established in at least 40 US states and much of Europe. It feeds on more than 300 kinds of plant, including fruit and vegetables, and shelters in buildings over winter.

What to do

Check the undersides of leaves for egg rafts and groups of young bugs, and crush or remove them.
Hand-pick adults and nymphs, or brush them into a container of soapy water. Take care with bronze orange bugs.
Cover vegetable crops with fine row cover to stop feeding, and lift it when plants flower so pollinators can reach them.
Leave natural enemies to work: parasitic wasps and flies attack green vegetable bugs, and assassin bugs and lacewings eat stink bugs.
Where brown marmorated stink bug is established, seal gaps around windows and doors before autumn to keep it out of the house.
In Australia or New Zealand, if a brown bug has white-banded antennae and a black-and-white banded edge, catch it in a sealed container if you can, photograph it and report it. If it came in imported goods, close the box and don't move it.

If you use an insecticide, choose one labelled for stink bugs and follow the label and local rules. UC IPM says most garden insecticides are not very effective against stink bugs, especially the adults.

Take care: The bronze orange bug can squirt a foul-smelling fluid that burns skin and hurts the eyes, so handle it with care.

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Sources

Facts checked Sunday 27 September 2026. General guidance only: follow your local council, agency and product label.