Red-shouldered Bug

About the Red-shouldered Bug

Jet black with red eyes, red shoulders, and red racing trim - a sharp-dressed little seed bug that gathers by the hundreds where soapberry and golden rain trees drop their seeds. The crowds on a warm wall or sidewalk in spring and fall are just a family reunion at the food supply.

Red-shouldered bugs are true bugs, feeding through a straw-like beak they slip into fallen seeds. They are harmless in every direction that matters: they do not bite, do not damage plants, and do not breed indoors - though they will happily sun themselves on the south side of a house by the dozen and wander inside when a door stays open.

The bold red-on-black is warning coloration; like many seed bugs they taste bad, and birds mostly leave them alone. That advertisement is honest enough that several edible look-alikes crib the same uniform.

They are close kin to the boxelder bug and are often mistaken for it - the boxelder wears red stripes along the wing edges, while this species keeps its red at the eyes and shoulders. A macro lens turns either one into a lacquered showpiece.