Western Conifer Seed Bug

Description:

Spotted at Buena Vista located in central Colorado roughly midway between Salida and Leadville in the Upper Arkansas River Valley at an elevation of 7,965 feet (2,428 m). These bugs cannot bite/sting/infect people or pets, damage houses or household items, or even reproduce indoors, as egg laying and development are restricted to the host plants during the summer months. If molested, they give off a pungent odor as defense.

Habitat:

Coniferous trees; adults may wander indoors late in the season looking for shelter to spend the winter. Nymphs and adults on coniferous trees in spring and summer; adults often seen around homes in fall. Nymphs and adults use their piercing-sucking mouth parts to feed on sap from green cones, twigs, seed pulp, and sometimes needles of several species of pine, plus hemlock, spruce, and Douglas-fir.

Notes:

Leaf-footed Bugs, True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies One generation per year. In spring these bugs move to coniferous trees nearby and feed on the developing seeds and early flowers. Females lay rows of eggs on host tree needles; eggs hatch in ~10 days. Young nymphs begin to feed on tender cone scales and sometimes the needles. The nymphs are orange and brown, becoming reddish-brown to brown as they develop. Nymphs pass through 5 stages and reach adulthood by late August. Adults feed on ripening seed until they seek overwintering quarters.