Beetle found in our kitchen in Conrad, Montana (USA) on 3/13/19:
1 Answer
This appears to be a stink bug in the superfamily Pentatomoidea of the true bugs (i.e., order Hemiptera).
Specifically, your specimen appears to be Perillus bioculatus or the two-spotted stink bug.
Photo Credit: Margarethe brummermann (2008)
You can see additional photos including those demonstrating the species's various yellow vs red color morphs here.
According to the Integrated Plant Protection Center at Oregon State University [my emphasis and links]:
Mature nymphs of the two spotted stink bug are about 8 to 9 mm long. Adults range in length from 10 to 12 mm. Nymphs may [be] pale yellow or reddishorange with a distinct black "Y-shaped" marking on the pronotum and two black spots on the thorax.
According to Wikipedia, this species is usually a beneficial predator (especially of the Colorado potato beetle), but early nymph stages feed by sucking on potato stems. The trade-off, I would guess, is worth it.
- In fact, the color variation in this species (namely the shift from white/yellow to red) that my earlier link shows photos of is a result of a higher diet of potato beetles. [Source, taken from p 99 in McPherson's 1992 book The Pentatomoidea (Hemiptera) of Northeastern North America].
Source: bugguide.net
Their range, according to bugguide.net is southern Canada, the U.S. and into Mexico.
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$\begingroup$ I was gobbling cherries one day and I ate a cherry with a stink bug which defended itself on my tongue. It was a bit hot and a bit indescribably chemical. wasn't a major worry though, i had forgotten about it after a while. don't eat them :D their defense works you spew them out haha. $\endgroup$ Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 10:43