Red-cross Shield Bug

Elasmostethus cruciatus · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Acanthosomatidae

Also called: Red-cross Stink Bug, Redcrossed stink bug

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Red-cross Shield Bug
Photo: Fyn Kynd, CC BY

The red-cross shield bug lives in North America. It is found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

It occurs in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Its habitat is in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 26 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, California, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Utah.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Red-cross Shield Bug photo 3
Photo: Fyn Kynd, CC BY
Red-cross Shield Bug photo 4
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY
Red-cross Shield Bug photo 5
Photo: Gavin Slater, CC BY
Red-cross Shield Bug photo 6
Photo: Gavin Slater, CC BY

Same family (Acanthosomatidae)

Hawthorn Shield BugHawthorn Shield BugAcanthosoma haemorrhoidaleParent BugParent BugElasmucha griseaBirch Shield BugBirch Shield BugElasmostethus interstinctusDamages trees, gardens or cropsJuniper Shield BugJuniper Shield BugCyphostethus tristriatusDamages trees, gardens or cropsForest shield bugForest shield bugOncacontias vittatus

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasmostethus_cruciatus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.