San Gabriel Mts., CA. © Peter J. Bryant. Contact for originals.

Western box-elder bug

Boisea rubrolineata

Hemiptera: Rhopalidea

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Silverado Canyon, Orange County, CA. 3-12-07. © Ron Hemberger

Silverado Canyon, Orange County, CA. 3-12-07. © Ron Hemberger

The Western Box-elder Bug belongs to the family of scentless plant bugs (Rhopalidae). It has a bright red abdomen and three red lines running lengthwise along the dorsal prothorax.

These bugs feed on box-elder, maple and ash trees; sometimes the adults eat fruit. They nearly always remain on female or seed-bearing trees, and seem to avoid male or staminate trees.

Box-elder Bugs overwinter as adults, often aggregating in dry sheltered places, including human dwellings. They emerge during the first warm days of spring, when they can be seen swarming in the air and crawling over vegetation in large numbers. Locally, the Box-elder Bug is especially abundant in the canyons bordering the Los Angeles basin. Adults can often be found in these canyons on warm spring days.

Text © Britton Jacob-Schram.
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