Cosmopepla lintneriana

Description

Cosmopepla lintneriana, the twice-stabbed stink bug, locally called the wee harlequin bug (particularly in Alberta), is a species of insect in the Pentatomidae family. Cosmopepla lintneriana was first described in 1798 by Johan Christian Fabricius as Cimex carnifex and then again in 1865 by Thomas as Cosmopepla bimaculata. Lintneriana is hosted by a variety of plants, including milk thistle, echinacea, asparagus, oats, mint and goldenrod, and is widespread throughout North America, from Canada to Mexico. Adult C. lintneriana are black with a red, orange, or yellow band across the pronotum and a short red stripe along the midline, and two red spots at the apex of the scutellum. Nymph coloration ranges from red to white with black markings that change as they grow.