Twice stabbed

Of all of the different insects that I've learned about over the past few years -- mainly through my research for these blog posts -- this guy is one of my favorites.

Or maybe I should say it has one of my favorite common names: the twice-stabbed stink bug.

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Although I call many of the insects in my yard names that are intended "for mature audiences only" (like these guys), you'd never hear them as common names. The gardening and naturalist communities wouldn't stand for it, even those without sensitive ears.

So I applaud the ingenuity of whoever came up with the "twice-stabbed" moniker. It hints of the frustration, tastes of violence without offending, and is super-easy to remember.

I seem to have a lot of them in the cleomes this year:

They usually like the Agastache foeniculum, but maybe find the cleome more inviting?

Both of these plants are mixed in the same bed now, so maybe I've hit a critical mass of food hosts for these guys?

Stink bugs eat leaves and stems and fruit -- basically all parts of some plants -- but I've not noticed any damage done by this red-dotted species.

So I'm not sure why the common name holds so much negativity.

Until their feeding makes me change my mind, I'm glad to have them around. They're so photogenic!

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