I found this today on the seed heads of my Penstemon pinifolius. Should I go out and kill it? Or is it a beneficial? Not sure why, but I feel like this will damage the seeds?

Could it be a stinkbug nymph (Euschistus)? I started looking about and found a nymph with the same shape but different coloration - http://www.pbase.com/image/132... so perhaps it is a relative? If no one identifies it today, I'll see if I can narrow down exactly who your bug is. BTW - Great photo!!

I got lucky and found him rather quickly. It is a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug "late instar nymph" - Figure 5 (6th photo down from the top) at:
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/en... .
The website gives a lot of information on the damage these cause and, yes, you are correct - it does damage seed pods.

You are so good OldGardner.
On my way out to get the little Stinker.

I got him. I'll try to get a better photo of him for your bug database when it happens.

valleylynn said: :
On my way out to get the little Stinker.

I'm glad you got him! I have seen these in my garden, too, and now that I know what they are, I'll be eradicating them, too.

Please don't worry about getting another picture - the photo that you have already posted is great! I had it blown up large on my monitor and it stayed crystal clear. It really is a fabulous shot.

Thank you so much.

My pleasure! I need to thank you - if you hadn't posted the photo, I wouldn't have learned about him. So, thank you!

Now we both know.