Squash Bug (Nymphs)

Agricultural fields, vegetable gardens, and crop patches, primarily residing on plants in the family Cucurbitaceae (squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, gourds).

Herbivorous/phytophagous; feeds by piercing plant tissue and sucking sap from leaves, stems, and fruits using piercing-sucking mouthparts.

Nymphs emerge light green or gray and often aggregate in clusters on stems and undersides of leaves or fruits. They undergo five instar stages before reaching adulthood. Adults overwinter under garden debris or rocks and return in spring.

Major agricultural and garden pest. Their feeding causes yellowing, wilting, leaf speckling, and eventual plant death (known as 'squash bug wilt'). They can vector yellow vine disease (Serratia marcescens). They pose no direct risk or bite hazard to humans or pets.