Proxys punctulatus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Stink Bug sighting in Masaya Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 38 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black Stink Bug in Masaya Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, June and August–November, the lowest months. That is one of Masaya Volcano National Park's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 390 mm in October.
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.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Black Stink Bug sightings, Masaya Volcano National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Great Smoky Mountains National Park (United States, under 5%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Black Stink Bug that you can see in Masaya Volcano National Park (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Meccus dimidiatus (about 20%), Sierra Madre Specklewing (about 20%) and Acraephia perspicillata (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 Masaya Volcano 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.
