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Lots of these insects appeared on a wall in my garden for about a week. I've never seen these before, and they behave like ants. They look like stink bugs and are 2-3mm long.

My search on google lens suggests Nysius Raphanus, but many sources say this species is limited to North America, and I live in south Italy. I think it could still belong to the Nysius genus, though.

Here are a couple of photos I took with my phone (sorry for the bad quality).

Thanks.

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  • $\begingroup$ Please update with better quality up-close photo. $\endgroup$
    – theforestecologist ♦
    Aug 24, 2022 at 12:49

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You are right and these are true bug (Heteroptera) larvae (see this answer on how to recognise them), although not of the familiy "stink bugs", but of the superfamily "seed bugs".

Determining true bug larvea to the species level is tricky and rarely done. But with some experience, it is possible to tell the families apart. Seed bug larvae have elongated, rather flat bodies of brownish colors (which camouflage them on the ground where most of them dwell). Often, they have a pointed nose (a long head) and relatively large eyes.

From their habitus, they could actually belong to the genus Nysius (you could compare with Fauna Europaea which species occur in your region). But they could also be another species from the seed bug superfamily. Moreover, identifying Nysius (and most other seed bug) species usually requires a microscopical inspection.

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  • $\begingroup$ Interesting. Later I discovered that they were coming from and going to a mature Portulaca Oleracea lawn. $\endgroup$
    – Frank Soll
    Jul 30 at 13:04

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