When I let my dog out this afternoon before heading to an appointment, I noticed this small insect on the side of the house. It was no bigger than about 3/8″, but the striped pattern jumped out. I had a little Canon point-and-shoot in my purse, so I set it on macro and did my best. Tonight I looked through my field guide and decided the insect was some type of stinkbug. Then I went to Google, naturally, and found that it appears to be a green stinkbug nymph (essentially, a juvenile), judging by the third photo on this page. My (!) stinkbug’s stripes were yellow except for the top one, where you can see some green. The text indicates it’s the wrong time of year for this little guy to be growing up. If he doesn’t find a place to hibernate pronto, the cold wave is gonna get him. Or her. Confession: I have a bad habit of referring to most animals as male unless they’re obviously female. This anecdote seems to have two morals: 1. Bugs are beautiful, and 2. Sexism is insidious.

Green Stinkbug Nymph