Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)

456 Invasive Stink Bugs and Related Species (Pentatomoidea)

in distribution (Sailer 1944). Three of the species occur in America north of Mexico, O. pugnax ( F.),
O. insularis Stål, and O. ypsilongriseus (De Geer) (Figure 9.1A–D).
Oebalus pugnax (the rice stink bug) originally was described from “America” by Fabricius (1775)
and, today, consists of two subspecies, O. p. pugnax and O. p. torrida (Sailer) (Sailer 1944). It is
found throughout much of the United States south to Mexico and Colombia and in the West Indies
(Froeschner 1988). O. p. pugnax has the same range as the species except in Colombia, which is where
O. p. torrida occurs (Sailer 1944, Froeschner 1988). O. pugnax is a well known pest of rice, hence its
common name.

A B

C

D E

FIGURE 9.1 (See color insert.) Oebalus spp. and Arvelius albopunctatus, Dorsal habitus. A, O. ypsilongriseus with
humeral spines; B, O. ypsilongriseus lacking humeral spines; C, O. pugnax; D, O. insularis; E, A. albopunctatus. (Images
A, B, and D: courtesy of J. E. Eger; Image C: courtesy of C. Scott Bundy; Image E: courtesy of J. J. da Silva).