As their names imply, they emit an unpleasant odor when crushed. They do their damage by sucking the sap out of developing pea and bean pods. Stink bugs can also be seen in numbers on ripe tomatoes, puncturing and damaging the fruit. The green stinkbug is shown in the photo. At times each species may be found in damaging numbers, but more often they occur in mixed populations.
Damage is caused by the nymphs and adults sucking sap from the bean pods.
This sucking reduces the quality of the beans. And if the beans are small when they are attacked, they do not develop. In severe cases complete loss of beans occurs. Most stinkbugs overwinter as adults in sheltered places, such as fence rows, ditch banks, and other places where plant remnants are abundant. Adults begin laying eggs in early spring.