Proxys punctulatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Proxys punctulatus, the black stink bug, is a species of stink bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, Central America, and North America. The adult of P. punctulatus is 11-13 mm long and has a mostly black body with a yellow spot at the apex of the scutellum. There are six legs which are black and cream in colour. The head as well as the humeral angles of the pronotum are pointed.
The life cycle of this species has been studied in Union County, Illinois. Adults overwinter in leaf litter near their host plants. They become active in June and reproduce. Eggs are usually laid singly. These eggs hatch into nymphs which go through five instars. A laboratory experiment, rearing P. punctulatus on Tradescantia subaspera under constant temperature and light, found that on average egg incubation takes 9.04 days while the five nymphal instars take 5.06, 7.15, 7.56, 9.32, and 15.93 days.
Proxys punctulatus is omnivorous, feeding on both plant juices and on insect larvae. It has been found on blackberry, spiderwort, cotton, soybean and citrus plants. Feeding results in disfigured leaves and discolored areas on stems, but this... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Stink Bug sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 628th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Stink Bug in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Stink Bug sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Black Stink Bug sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Masaya Volcano National Park (Nicaragua, about 10%).
Same family: Pentatomidae
The closest relatives of the Black Stink Bug that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Pentatomidae, Stink Bugs) are Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (about 20%), Green Stink Bug (about 10%) and Florida Predatory Stink Bug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Stink Bug is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
