George Jett took this lovely picture of a female squash bug and its eggs today. It sat on the underside of a squash leaf and certainly merits a second look. What is this creature and why should we care? This is what George gathered from Wikipedia:
Squash bug, Anasa tristis, is a species of true bugs (Hermiptera) in the family Coreidae. Squash bugs can be found on various members of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae (pumpkin, squash, watermelon, cucumber and cantaloupe), but most often occurs on pumpkins and squashes.
The adult squash bug is a greyish-brown, somewhat flattened insect reaching a length of about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) and a width of 0.75 cm (0.3 in). See photo. To most of us this bug looks much like a brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys). Adults survive for three or four months.
In the southern part of its range (our community garden), the adult female squash bug lays two or three batches of about eighteen eggs, but in the northern part of the range, it just lays a single batch. The eggs are oval, somewhat flattened and bronze in color (see photo), and are generally, but not always deposited on the underside of the leaves of the host plant. They may be clustered close together or more widely dispersed, but are often regularly arranged. The eggs hatch after seven to nine days into nymphs which have five instar stages. Instar phases are the phases between eggs and adults. The fifth instar is grey, with developing wing pads and about 10 mm (0.4 in) in length. The complete nymphal stage lasts about 33 days.
Squash bug feeds by sucking sap, mainly from the leaves, but sometimes also the fruit. What happens is that the insects physically damage the xylem (the vascular tissue in the plant), and leaves of the plant, which causes them to wilt, darken in color and die. The heavier the infestation, the greater the damage to the plant. Besides the direct damage their feeding causes to the plant, these insects can act as vectors for cucurbit yellow vine disease caused by the bacterium Serratia marcescens. This disease can kill the plants.
If you see these eggs or adults on the squash plants please squash them, or get some hardy soul to dispatch with them. Note these bugs can emit an unpleasant odor when disturbed or squashed.