Stinky Bugs on Washington's Summit Cone in June

I ran into something unexpected as I got to the Trinity Heights Connector on my June 17 hike up Washington: a strong "stink bug" smell. It seemed out of place to me because the last time I'd smelled it was as a kid in Arkansas. At first I thought it was a smell associated with some of the summit facilities, maybe a broadcast tower, but someone told me it was some sort of insect which lives up there in large numbers. Probably not the same species as lives down south, I'd venture, but the smell was pretty similar. Does anyone know more about this?

Stink bugs in NH have recently been in the news. What do they smell like? I've seen them but I don't know whether I've smelled them.

ours look like this (the western conifer seed bug);



not like this;



Ours smell like concentrated pine or "Pinesol", not horrible, just a surprise when you grab them on a window.

Chip said:

ours look like this (the western conifer seed bug);

... not like this;

Ours smell like concentrated pine or "Pinesol", not horrible, just a surprise when you grab them on a window.

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I think I saw a few of the former on my trek. One got stuck in my mouth as I descended on the Crawford Path. That, come to think of it, was when it registered that Mt. W has its own stink bugs, which was confirmed IIRC when I talked with someone about it later. It was weird that there were so many on the THC that their smell was noticeable. Can't say I'd call their smell pine-sol-ish, though.

Who named them the "western" conifer seed bug, anyhow? Someone from Nova Scotia?

We get tons of the latter one in Arkansas, green ones in the same shape, too. Always disliked them as a kid, must say, but I've outgrown that.

Lots of insects - beetles and hemipterans for sure - will congregate in high places in the fall. I remember one time on Madison I couldn't step on the summit without crunching noises. Google for "ladybug swarm" for some especially dramatic pictures.

We have them here in Maine. They overwinter at our house, it's not an infestation but you see one or two ever few days. I would call the stink more like banana peel.

nartreb said:

Lots of insects - beetles and hemipterans for sure - will congregate in high places in the fall. I remember one time on Madison I couldn't step on the summit without crunching noises. Google for "ladybug swarm" for some especially dramatic pictures.

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Lady bugs are wonderful creatures, and it is a neat thing to behold when they swarm. They hold a special place in the lore and the hearts of my family.

Interesting they are that "high up". We have a bad infestation going on this year...thousands of them. That is not an exaggeration...every time I go into a room that isn't used a lot, I will find a dozen or so. They are harmless (unless you have crops). However, don't kill them or squish them. The "stink" is a pheromone, and it attracks more. I believe that is why we got them so bad....

Chip said:

ours look like this (the western conifer seed bug);

not like this;

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Really? This what the stinkbugs that wreaked havoc on my garden this year looked like.

I worked on Washington for a while last decade, and the stink bugs were there for a week every summer. They were there long before the invasive ones getting all the press this year. I always assumed they were native...but never researched it...but I know they predate the new invasion!

w7xman said:

I worked on Washington for a while last decade, and the stink bugs were there for a week every summer. They were there long before the invasive ones getting all the press this year. I always assumed they were native...but never researched it...but I know they predate the new invasion!

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It was fascinating to me that they would congregate at such a high place when I first took note of them. Still fascinating given that they are named the Western Conifer Seed Bug. What draws them to a barren summit a good half mile from the nearest scrub? Maybe they just like the view and the challenge of the climb like the rest of us. They could be the mascot insect for the Observatory, joining the cat they have up there.

PS: A bit of a change of subject, but I have to say that I really loved on that first successful trip up W that the rocks between the Cog on the Gulfside Trail, maybe a bit before, and the summit transitioned to schist. I've loved schist since my first remembered acquaintance with it in the Taconics of Northwestern CT and SW Mass, particularly Bear Mountain, which was my first time to hike part of the A.T. Felt like a bit of home. W, which had kicked me in the pants 11 months before and had turned me back in high wind at the Lakes hut 5 weeks before, finally was welcoming me. No wind when I got my summit pic snapped, as if for good measure. But I ramble. ...

Driver8 said:

It was fascinating to me that they would congregate at such a high place when I first took note of them. Still fascinating given that they are named the Western Conifer Seed Bug. What draws them to a barren summit a good half mile from the nearest scrub?

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Breeding.

If all members of a dispersed species simply head uphill at the same time, they will meet on the summits. A simple but effective strategy...

Doug

DougPaul said:

Breeding.

If all members of a dispersed species simply head uphill at the same time, they will meet on the summits. A simple but effective strategy...

Doug

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I figured the swarm had to do with breeding, or maybe somebody said that to me, don't recall. But the logic of it is impeccable - let's all meet at the top and party! Got it. Thanks for sharing the insight.

surf88 said:

Really? This what the stinkbugs that wreaked havoc on my garden this year looked like.

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Yes. The critters that everyone is seeing, while disconcerting, are not stink bugs (nor are they pests), they are just somewhat similar in appearance. They are, as Chip noted, the "Western Conifer Seed Bugs" or "Pine Seed Bugs" (Leptoglossus occidentalis). They are considered an accidental or temporary pest but are not really a serious issue. They are related to "stink bugs" (Halyomorpha halys) in that they are "true bugs" in the order Hemiptera, which explains their similar physical characteristics, but that's about it. The reason for the congregation is the same as that for the "Multicolored Asian Ladybeetles" Harmonia axyridis: they are seeking overwintering sites. Here's a brief on them from Iowa State.

NH Tramper said:

Yes. The critters that everyone is seeing, while disconcerting, are not stink bugs (nor are they pests), they are just somewhat similar in appearance. They are, as Chip noted, the "Western Conifer Seed Bugs" or "Pine Seed Bugs" (Leptoglossus occidentalis). They are considered an accidental or temporary pest but are not really a serious issue. They are related to "stink bugs" (Halyomorpha halys) in that they are "true bugs" in the order Hemiptera, which explains their similar physical characteristics, but that's about it. The reason for the congregation is the same as that for the "Multicolored Asian Ladybeetles" Harmonia axyridis: they are seeking overwintering sites. Here's a brief on them from Iowa State.

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Would they have been seeking an overwintering site in mid-June when I ran across them per my OP? I'm sticking with Doug's breeding explanation. Makes more sense for that time of year, I reckon.

Driver8 said:

Would they have been seeking an overwintering site in mid-June when I ran across them per my OP? [...]

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Nope, they wouldn't be seeking shelter in June, this is true. According to their life-cycle/biology, however, they were more than likely leaving their overwintering site from the previous year (one of the summit buildings, foundation rocks, whatever). The timing is spot on for that, especially in the summit's climate. They don't exhibit that behavior during breeding -- though it is a reasonable and intelligent assumption -- they only do that in association with overwintering. It's like the aforementioned H. axyridis: you'd see them crawling all over our houses in the fall, then again in the spring when they were trying to get back out. Make sense?

NH Tramper said:

Nope, they wouldn't be seeking shelter in June, this is true. According to their life-cycle/biology, however, they were more than likely leaving their overwintering site from the previous year (one of the summit buildings, foundation rocks, whatever). The timing is spot on for that, especially in the summit's climate. They don't exhibit that behavior during breeding -- though it is a reasonable and intelligent assumption -- they only do that in association with overwintering. It's like the aforementioned H. axyridis: you'd see them crawling all over our houses in the fall, then again in the spring when they were trying to get back out. Make sense?

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Does to me. Fascinating to suss out what these smelly little bugs were up to and about. I could see them waking from a long slumber as things finally got good and thawed at that elevation.

Unfortunately the native ladybugs don't swarm... only the invasive Asian ladybugs. The invasive types also bite.