Boisea
Guides
Boisea rubrolineata
Western Boxelder Bug
Boisea rubrolineata, the western boxelder bug, is a scentless plant bug native to western North America, ranging west of the Continental Divide. This species is a specialist herbivore primarily associated with boxelder maple (Acer negundo), feeding on both pollen from staminate trees and seeds from pistillate trees. Distinguished from its eastern counterpart B. trivittata by prominent red veins on the corium, it exhibits complex semiochemical-mediated behaviors including aggregation and host foraging. The species undergoes incomplete metamorphosis and seeks sheltered overwintering sites in autumn, often becoming a nuisance pest when entering human structures.