Podisus maculiventris

Podisus maculiventris is a species of Heteropteran Hemipteran of the Pentatomidae family native to North America, measuring between 0.8 and 1.3 cm. Gives off a foul odor when disturbed.

Its half-life is five or six months; During that time they lay up to five hundred eggs in batches of two or three dozen on leaves and branches. They feed on other insects to which they stick a stiletto with which they inject venom, after which they suck them.

Many of their prey are considered pests, which is why they are considered valuable as biological controls. Examples of some pests they attack are: hairy lizard caterpillars or Lymantria dispar, potato beetle or Leptinotarsa decemlineata and larvae of Epilachna varivestis