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What kind of bug/insect is this?

Can anyone help me identify these bugs/insects? They are all over a couple of my habanero peppers. Not the leaves, not the stems, but the actual fruit.
 
Thanks!
 
Nick
 

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Hey Nick
I reckon those mongrels are a type of stink bug. Could well be marmorated stink bug of some sort. See link http://www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/plant/brown-marmorated-stink-bug
 
I had some sort of these in the young nymph stage on tomatoes & chillies over the last two seasons.
Used a systemic spray called confidor (nicotine based) to nail them.
Found they breed up real fast, so smash them urgently!
And yeah, they do stink!
 
Cheers from Flamin Devil Chillies
 
Yes, those are definitely stank bugs. Kill them quick. Spray of you must, dust then with some food grade diatomaceous Earth, stomp /squish /whoopazz manually. Whatever you gotta do, get them gone. You can win this.

These guys won't eat your pods, but they will suck juice out. So, the pod looks intact, but will have lighter-colored "bruises" surrounding the hole they popped their sucker into... And those bruise-like soft spots will rot quickly. So, yeah, the pods are gross and will likely be good for compost and little else...
 
Thanks for the info. Do you know if they affect Bell Peppers also? I've been having some issues with a bunch of rotten bell peppers as well.
 
Thanks!
 
Nick4978 said:
Thanks for the info. Do you know if they affect Bell Peppers also? I've been having some issues with a bunch of rotten bell peppers as well.
 
Thanks!
 

As a general rule of thumb, the more common varieties of Bell Pepper are going to struggle in deep Southern humid climates.
 
Also, the stink bugs tend to cluster as a brood when they're young (as pictured).
 
So, the stink bugs are an issue, but if you haven't noticed a brood of stink bugs menacing your Bell Peppers, then it's not uncommon for us to struggle with the common Bell Peppers in the Deep South.
 
DontPanic said:
 
As a general rule of thumb, the more common varieties of Bell Pepper are going to struggle in deep Southern humid climates.
 
Also, the stink bugs tend to cluster as a brood when they're young (as pictured).
 
So, the stink bugs are an issue, but if you haven't noticed a brood of stink bugs menacing your Bell Peppers, then it's not uncommon for us to struggle with the common Bell Peppers in the Deep South.
off topic a little bit, what sweet peppers have you had success with down here?  My bell pepper yield is always lower than I like, I probably need to switch to something else next year.
 
The only sweet pepper I've tried are the bells. The rest of them are hot. Jalapenos, Cayenne, orange and red habaneros, Thai dragon, ghost, scorpion and Carolina Reaper.
 
Doelman said:
off topic a little bit, what sweet peppers have you had success with down here?  My bell pepper yield is always lower than I like, I probably need to switch to something else next year.
This is in response to the bell pepper question.  I lived in Florida for many years.  I never had much luck with sweet bell peppers in Florida.  The best answer is not to grow bell peppers.  If you are flexible you can grow different variety's of sweet peppers.  I suggest that you search for some sweet Capsicum Chinense variety's.  They like the heat and humidity and produce nicely.  Seed company's are beginning to take notice of these Sweet Chinense peppers and some are marketing them now.  I am not recommending this company, however, Baker Creek Seed for example has a sweet chinense variety called Arroz con Pollo.  They are about the size of a habenero and ripen red.  Someone gave me some seed so I am trialing them.  I live in Panama where it is very hot and humid.  This variety is doing incredibly well.  My anuum's are all struggling.  Just a suggestion.  The only draw back is that the peppers are small.  The good part is that these small sweet peppers have great flavor.
 
Glen_ said:
This is in response to the bell pepper question.  I lived in Florida for many years.  I never had much luck with sweet bell peppers in Florida.  The best answer is not to grow bell peppers.  If you are flexible you can grow different variety's of sweet peppers.  I suggest that you search for some sweet Capsicum Chinense variety's.  They like the heat and humidity and produce nicely.  Seed company's are beginning to take notice of these Sweet Chinense peppers and some are marketing them now.  I am not recommending this company, however, Baker Creek Seed for example has a sweet chinense variety called Arroz con Pollo.  They are about the size of a habenero and ripen red.  Someone gave me some seed so I am trialing them.  I live in Panama where it is very hot and humid.  This variety is doing incredibly well.  My anuum's are all struggling.  Just a suggestion.  The only draw back is that the peppers are small.  The good part is that these small sweet peppers have great flavor.
Thanks!  I'll give those a shot next season.
 
Right now, my fave low-heat Chinense is Aji Jobito. Runner up is NuMex Trick or Treat. Next year, I want to try the Stuffing Scotch Bonnet, which is huge but not hot and, let's face it, not truly a Bonnet... But it seems like it'd be a great variety to grow.
 
Bicycle808 said:
Right now, my fave low-heat Chinense is Aji Jobito. Runner up is NuMex Trick or Treat. Next year, I want to try the Stuffing Scotch Bonnet, which is huge but not hot and, let's face it, not truly a Bonnet... But it seems like it'd be a great variety to grow.
There is a lot of low to no heat Chinense peppers to try.  Sometimes I see them in the super-market in Panama and I always pick up a couple of ripe ones to taste and maybe save some seed.  If you can grow super-hot peppers, I am positive you can grow the sweet chinense peppers.  Where I live they are pretty much bullet proof.  The bugs and the deseases seem to avoid them.  I have some in a row along with some jalepeno's and pequin's etc.  The jalepeno's just attract bugs like stink bugs and other critters I don't know the name of.  The Chinense peppers laugh at the jalepeno's because no bugs bother them.  No virus.  No fungus.  Just pretty, clean bright green plants.  And, they can get covered over with little sweet peppers(ajicito's).  Jalepeno's are hit or miss.  As much as I love them, I just might have planted them for the last time.  The only down side in my view with the sweet chinense peppers is that they can be a little small.  But, the flavor is awesome!!  Throw those in a bean pot if you want.  Just delicious.
 
All I can say is, many of my Supers produce far more pods than my Aji Jobitos & similar chinense... But my stankbugs are more into the SuperHots than anything else. They are utterly destroying my one bed and I'm so distraught about it
 
We have 2 different varieties of Stink bugs here in North Idaho that i am aware of, They are MUCH MUCH Larger than the ones in the OPs Photos. In the Fall when it gets Chilly they start looking for a place to Hibernate, i have seen the Sky literally FULL of these things! They land on ya, Crawl all over EVERYTHING and end up in every nook and Cranny possible. BUT, i have NEVER EVER seen these Particular Stink Bugs Bother any kind of Garden Plants?

The problem i had this year was Earwigs, and i mean a Million of em! They are notorious for Boring a Hole in the Meat of a Pepper and Hanging out in it, They Dont usually break through to the inner of the Pepper, and if they do they Abandon it. These things raised HELL with my Zapotecs this Year. They end up in your house, in the Water tank of your Coffee Pot, etc. etc. etc. NASTY little creatures!!
 
My pests this year, the only ones that did any legit damage, were stankbugs and earwigs. Lately, I've been noticing some big ol grasshoppers, and they're doing some chewing but between the earwigs and the stinkers, I've lost a whole lot of decent pods. It's infuriating.

I grow in two different locations. One spot, the plants grow more vigorously but it's crawling with pests. The other, plants aren't quite as big and productive, but there's very few pests as of yet...
 
I almost made it through the season with very minor bug damage until yesterday. Hornworms found my brown bhuts and pretty much destroyed them. I didn't even realize they were so loaded with pods until yesterday. I sure hope there is enough life left in them for some more pods to ripen. Many of the pods are huge but i only got 2 ripe so far. ATM there are way more pods than leaves left on the plants....I am so pissed right now.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
I almost made it through the season with very minor bug damage until yesterday. Hornworms found my brown bhuts and pretty much destroyed them. I didn't even realize they were so loaded with pods until yesterday. I sure hope there is enough life left in them for some more pods to ripen. Many of the pods are huge but i only got 2 ripe so far. ATM there are way more pods than leaves left on the plants....I am so pissed right now.
 
Sorry to hear this!
 
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