These small brown beetles are massing at the moment and finding their way into my house. Does anyone know what they are? And are they native?

It's a variety of Leaf-Footed Bug.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/3012/30...

And, boy do they smell nasty if you squash them! They are also susceptible to being vanquished by a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol, but it takes quite a bit. I generally soak a tissue or paper towel with the alcohol and use that to scoop them up and flush them. Ugh! Hate 'em!

Thank you both! Jay, I could not get your link to download, but I Googled "leaf footed bug ontario" and found the bug's ID. It's the Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis). It was originally from western North America, but has steadily expanded its territory eastward, and since 1985 it has been proliferating in Ontario. My property contains a mixed conifer plantation of red and white pines, with some spruce, and so the bug has plenty to eat here. And yes, Woofie, they do have a pungent whiff when squashed! I have been wrangling them into paper cups and humanely carrying them outside (where they promptly turn around and try come back indoors again).

June, you are MUCH more tender-hearted than I! And somehow, I really don't think they're an endangered species, so I suffer no pangs of guilt for flushing them! Heh, you also have obviously never had one get stuck in your hair and had to wash out the resulting unpleasant odor! Gaaaahhh!

Not to mention the huge amount of damage they do to practically ALL plants. Just squish or flush them!

Ewww! Arlene, do you mean that there are even more reasons to detest these little nasties? I'd never realized that they did damage to plants! Although I did see one hanging out on one of my Stokes Asters. Hmmmmm....this may be war!

They feed in a wide range of plants, the physical damage the do is minor compared to the pathogens they spread!
They bite plants with piercing mouthparts, like a BIG mosquito for plants!

I can't speak for that exact species, they all very similar, but here, they spread wilt to cucurbits! Varatiosly!

You can watch an infected bug make its way thru the field, a few plants a day will go down, sometimes you can even track down the single offender, but if another bites that infected plant before it goes down, he will spread the wilt, once it's started there's not much stopping them..

HAVE NO MERCY!

The good news is: praying mantis eat them!

Was that a lucky shot or did you feed that to him?

Birds won't eat em.,.i think that smell they put out Is a defense mechanizism.

It was a lucky shot. I just happened to see it on my deck, and it had already caught the bug. The mantis ate everything except the bug's wings, which it bit off and threw away.

Cool!

Gee, i didn't know that. Bad news is I haven't seen a single praying mantis this year. We have so many leaf footed bugs that it would take an army of them to help. I plant trap crops like sunflowers to try and get some relief. They really ruin tomatoes. And lots of other things.