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I saw this large beige beetle on a large pine cone on the ground in February in Hsinchu county Taiwan.

It was about 4 cm long and 2 cm wide and the color was similar to the pine cone it was standing on. Though it was sunny it was cool (15 C) and the beetle didn't really respond when I picked up the cone.

I remember seeing a sign about (apparently) this species in November when hiking so I've attached it as well. I think the sign warns that this is a pest but I can't read it; I assume it is in Chinese.

Unfortunately I didn't remember the poster (from November) until later.

Any idea what it is and/or what the kind of cone that it's on, and what problems it can cause?

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2 Answers 2

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This is Tessaratoma papillosa, also known as the lychee giant stink bug. It is a pest for lychee trees, this is probably the reason for this warning sign. See the image for comparision:

enter image description here

See also this page for more information.

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It is not a beetle, but a true bug. Tessaratoma papillosa, to be exact. It is relatively common in Taiwan. It can cause problems if you have a lychee tree, as it is a destructive pest to lychee trees.

Here is an image of this animal:

enter image description here

The nymphs look like this:

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https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7887&taxon_id=47743&view=species

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessaratomidae#As_agricultural_pests

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  • $\begingroup$ This is great, thank you very much! I really appreciate the extra links. I can see that February was well before the peak observation count in April. Do you know what time of year that those colorful nymphs are most likely to be seen? The Wikipedia article doesn't give any information on the seasonal behavior. I also found it interesting that this Lychee Stink Bug Lyramorpha rosea is often confused with Tessaratoma papillosa. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 8:57
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    $\begingroup$ @uhoh Discerning what time of the year the nymphs are most likely seen is difficult because many people on iNaturalist do not specify the life stage, but it appears to be from April to May. The wikipedia article is actually for the group of insects that it belongs to as the article for that particular species doesn't provide much useful information. $\endgroup$
    – Praearcturus
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 16:38

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