Shield bug in Uttarakhand

From the archive record

Kuheli Biswas Das tells us that "This is a Shield Bug." Mittal Gala adds that "Shield bugs come in beautiful colors from green to yellow to blood red." "Pentatomoidea is a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order and, as such, share a common arrangement of sucking mouth parts. They are commonly referred to as shield bugs, chust bugs, and stink bugs. There are about 7000 species under Pentatomoidea, divided under 14 to 15 families. Pentatomoidea are characterized by a well developed scutellum (the hardened extension of the thorax over the abdomen). It can be triangular to semi-elliptical in shape. Pentatomoidea usually have antennae with five segments. The tarsi usually have two or three segments. Shield bugs have glands in their thorax between the first and