Box Elder (True Bug)

My Home: On warm sunny days I like to warm myself in the sun, usually you will find me on the south and west sides of your house. I will only live in places that have a box elder or maple tree close by.

What I eat: I normally feed on the leaves and seedpods of the
box elder tree or silver maple, but I cause little damage to the
trees.

What I look like: I am about ½ of an inch long, black
body with three red lines just behind my head.

How I am born: I go through four stages
of development: egg, larva, pupa and
adult. My egg is laid on the leaves,
branches, or trunk of the box
elder tree. It takes only a few
days for my egg to hatch and another
45 - 60 days to develop into an adult.
I will hibernate during the winter and live about
one year.


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  Fun Facts
The box elder bug
lays its eggs almost exclusively on the
female box elder tree, which produces the
flowers and seeds during the spring. They
are not harmful, just nuisance bugs because
they like to winter inside the warmth of a
house. They can also be seen in he late
summer under box elder trees by the
thousands, getting prepared to hibernate.