Whenever I see a hibiscus flower I immediately associate it with tropical vacations. Beautiful and large flowers, they come in a variety of stunning colors. In Australia we have a hibiscus harlequin bug (Tectocoris diopthalamus) which is also brightly colored, but a dreaded pest to the hibiscus plant. It will pierce through the stem of tender shoots and flower buds to feed on the sap, causing the buds to drop off. These bugs also feed on cotton, a few Australian natives and some fruit trees. Once a female lays her eggs she will stand guard and protect them. In Australia we call them stink bugs because when they get disturbed, they release a very bad smell which triggers mass smell production from nearby friends. Happy weekend everyone!
Laura Lecce's art and photography 
Interesting post. It’s too bad that such an attractive bug is so destructive.
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Hi Belinda, thankfully not all stink bugs are as pretty, many are black/brown and very ugly. Certainly not worthy of a photograph 😉
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How wonderful to see the eggs being laid. It sounds like a Hobson’s Choice – leave them alone and lose your flowers or disturb them and risk mass smell production! It makes me glad my new rose shoots are merely covered in greenflies.
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Lol, thank you for your comment Susan. It can be quite a combat with these bugs, especially if you get a large infestation! Good luck with your roses, you need some lady beetles to come to the rescue!
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You’re right – every rose should really come with a guardian ladybird (as we call them). A bit like you hear of Texans selling a house that ‘comes with a steer’.
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What a colourful insect!
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They certainly are, and they even have a metallic sheen to them which is very beautiful.
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Beautiful but deadly! We have a similar type of bug here that gives out a foul smell when it is threatened. Only it’s brownish black in colour. The smell can last for days and if you get just a bit of its spray on your skin, you smell bad for a whole day and even scrubbing with soap and water doesn’t help. At least your bug is smelly but pretty. Ours is not only smelly but ugly. Spraying perfume to mask the smell only makes the situation worse. Urghs!!!
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We do have the ugly version of this too, definitely not photo worthy though!
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What a lovely photo of the hibiscus flower, Laura! Have a great weekend. 🙂
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Thank you Iris, you too!
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Beautifully captured Laura! 🙂
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Thank you Snehal, have a wonderful weekend!
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Beautiful flower! I love hibiscus tea 🙂
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Wow, it’s wonderful to see how such a beautiful insect lays its eggs. You nailed this, Laura. I loved it.
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