Western conifer seed bug

Description:

Length about 16 millimeters, brown reddish colour, alternating light and dark bands along the outer wing edges on the flaring sides of the abdomen.

Habitat:

Spotted at Vilanova d'Escornalbou, Catalonia, with in a pine forest surrounded by red sandy rocks, were is considered as invasive species and harmful for the local environment as it destroys the local pines. It is native to North America west of the Rocky Mountains but has in recent times expanded its range to eastern North America, and some parts of Europe.

Notes:

The western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, sometimes abbreviated as WCSB, is a species of true bug (Hemiptera) in the family Coreidae or leaf-footed bugs. Their primary defense is to spray a bitter, offending smell, though sometimes they can smell pleasantly of apples, bananas or pine sap; however, if handled roughly they will stab with their proboscis, though they are hardly able to cause injury to humans as it is adapted only to suck plant sap and not, as in the assassin bugs, to inject poison.