On the downside, they sometimes will eat beneficial insects and occasionally their own young. Nymphs begin voracious feeding when 4 to 5 days old. Spined soldier bugs gravitate to gardens and crop fields. Give them a perennial bed for needed cover. Eggs are laid on leaves in spring.
Nymphs reach adulthood in six to eight weeks.
Adults live for about five to eight weeks. Look for one or two generations per year. By summer's end they may eat pollen. Eggs are laid in the spring among prey populations, such as aphids, and are white or yellow, oval shaped and often deposited in clusters. They hatch in three to five days.