Nezara viridula (southern green stink bug) | Pergamino, Pcia. Buenos Aires, Argentina
I encountered this adult Nezara viridula (southern green stink bug) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in a soybean field in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. I liked the way it balanced itself on the leaf on which it was sitting to keep its body level.
Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2011
Beetles In The Bush 
So Nezara viridula lives down there, too.
Who knew?
Where is it native, anyway?
Well, in my professional life I’m a soybean entomologist, so I knew it was there 🙂
Actually, I’m not sure where it originated, but it’s current distribution is throughout the world’s tropical and subtropical regions – particularly those where soybean is cultivated. It’s distribution is still expanding in South America due to the continued expansion of soybean acres (or hectares, to be more correct).
Hi Ted,
Just stumbled across a fascinating paper relevant to your Brazil bugs #15 post on Guayaquila xiphias:
Ectoparasitism in Aulacothrips (Thysanoptera: Heterothripidae) revisited: Host diversity on honeydew-producing Hemiptera and description of a new species
Cavalleri, A; Kaminski, LA; Mendonca, MD
ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER Volume: 249 Issue: 3-4 Pages: 209-221 Published: 2010
Cool – thanks!