{"id":3557,"date":"2012-10-23T10:39:40","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T14:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/?page_id=3557"},"modified":"2025-03-06T12:21:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T17:21:41","slug":"western-conifer-seed-bugs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/frequent-specimens\/western-conifer-seed-bugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Conifer Seed Bug"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis<\/i>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Western Conifer Seed Bug<\/strong> (<\/em>Leptoglossus occidentalis) <\/em>is often mistaken by people for either an Asian Longhorned Beetle<\/a>, an assassin bug<\/a>, or a squash bug (squash bugs are significantly darker).\u00a0 The western conifer seed bug is a leaf-footed bug that feeds on the sap of trees in the Pinaceae family such as pines, hemlocks, spruces, and Douglas-firs. It uses its straw-like mouthpart to suck the sap from the green cones, twigs, seed pulp, and\/or needles of its host trees. Any feeding injury to the trees is considered insignificant. It does not harm the wood of a home, but is by and large merely a nuisance.\u00a0 One possible exception to this is the occasional reported damage to PEX pipes used in plumbing and radiant heating systems in some homes (follow the link to the Cornell study below for additional information on this interesting discovery).<\/p>\n

Western conifer seed bugs find their way into homes during the end of summer and early fall looking for a warm and protected place to spend the winter.\u00a0 They emit a foul-smelling odor when disturbed, handled, pressed or crushed.\u00a0 Also, the sound of their wings while in flight resembles the buzzing sound of a wasp or hornet, which can be unnerving and startling when one flies past your ear or lands on you.<\/p>\n\n\t\t