Indian Stink Bug vs Ocean Strider

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Indian Stink Bug Ocean Strider
Scientific Name Bagrada hilaris Halobates micans
Order Hemiptera Hemiptera
Family Pentatomidae Gerridae
Size 5-7 mm 4-5 mm
Habitat Farmland Beaches & Coastal
Diet Sap Feeders Omnivores
Regions South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh) Tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Indian Stink Bug

A small, shield-shaped bug with a distinctive black and orange pattern. It is a serious pest of cruciferous crops, particularly mustard, and releases a pungent defensive odor when disturbed.

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Did You Know?

This pest has become invasive in the United States and is now established in California, where it damages organic vegetable crops.

Ocean Strider

A remarkable open-ocean water strider that spends its entire life on the surface of tropical seas. It is one of the very few insects adapted to a fully marine existence. It lays eggs on floating debris including feathers and seaweed.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the only insects to have colonized the open ocean and can be found thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, surviving storms and wave action.