is this insect harmful?

we had a horrible douglas fir infestation from some insect last summer and many big trees died near the house. we started losing some spruce tops as well, but used an insect killer on the trees before it was too late. now i am bringing in firewood and this insect keeps showing up in the house. is this the same beetle that is killing the trees? i'm pretty sure it's from the woodpile. I'm trying to figure out if i should let it live outside or if it will go on to damage more trees. Thanks in advance.

That looks more like a bug than a beetle. Could be some kind of stink bug.

All i can tell you about this is that I have seen these lil guys in my area for years. this past year i called them a stink bug to a friend and he told me they were box alder beetles and pointed to a box alder they always came from every year . i asked him if they ate the tree and he wasn't sure but told me that the tree had been in good health as long as he could remember and that there were always beatles around it. the tree was healthy for sure and i didn't see any signs of them eating it or any type of rot. i would look into it more of course but that's my experience with them. good luck

The bug in the picture looks like the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug we have in Montana.



A Box Elder Beetle looks very different.



Hope that helps.

it IS the stink bug!! thanks!!! now i can do some research to see if they are harmful. most appreciated.

I think they might be edible

Bill, I was washing the dishes a week ago and one got in the water as I was rinsing the sink. They earned that "stink bug" title for sure.

Mike Feddersen wrote:Bill, I was washing the dishes a week ago and one got in the water as I was rinsing the sink. They earned that "stink bug" title for sure.

Mike, I have both of them along with a lot of others - yeah, they definitely earned the stink bug title, without a doubt.

if you try to grow squash this bug will kill most if not all of the plants!!! they feed by piercing the plant stem and sucking the juices. this results in their saliva couaglating the plant juices and kills the squash.