Red-shouldered Bug

I had no idea what these bugs were until I happened upon a link while looking up the name of the tree I have in front of my apartment. (Goldenrain). I've spent the entire spring calling Maintenance to spray, but the insecticides never worked. I decided to experiment with soapy water, though it seemed an unlikely arsenal.. but it killed them within seconds! In my experiment, I squirted about three tablespoons of classic (no bleach additives) Dawn dish detergent in a pitcher, filled it with water, poured it on the flower bed and watched the little beasties die. Now that I see it has worked, I'm going to the hardware store, buying a sprayer, more Dawn, and going to town on them!

Arlington Texas July 2008 - We have been overwhelmed with this pesky bugs this year. They are everywhere in my front yard, by the thousands. We don't have any soapberry trees around, but we do have a large maple in the front yard. About the only way I have found to get rid of them is the old Texas Two Step. If anybody has any tips on how to get rid of a large number of these bugs, my cat (they get all in her food and eat it) and I would really be grateful.

I have been wondering about this bug for two years now, and thanks to claypa (kisses to you) I have finally found out that it is a red shouldered bug (go figure the name!) I also have pics of the nymph stage that I will post seperately. I live in North Texas on a creek lot that has about a dozen Western Soapberry trees. These bugs are obviously attracted to the berries that fall. I have read that they can be easily controlled, if desired, by a concoction of soap and water. But how great is this natural solution to the soapberry mess? I love life's cycle. We humans should just get out of the way. Thanks again claypa!

I live in Toledo, OH and i purchased my home about three years ago. When I moved in it had this dark red mulch. The first time my wife started pulling up the mulch she had a large amount of bites that actually lasted close to a month. The Jadera bugs were originally were very small, maybe an eighth of an inch in length. Now they're up to 3/4 of an inch. I'm hoping that someone out there knows a good way to get rid of these bugs.

Just want to know how to get rid of these bugs? Do they eventually disappear. I have what I think is a Raintree near my pool.
Thank you for any help you can give me. I have hundreds of them.YUK!
Flowrluver@aol.com

In the entomological literature, it is often referred to as the golden raintree bug or redshouldered bug. In the ecological and evolutionary literature, it is usually called the soapberry bug.

The bug is mainly black, but it has striking red eye and 'shoulders' (actually, the edges of the pronotum). The dorsum of the abdomen also is bright red, but most of it is covered by the wings, except in the short-winged, or brachypterus, individuals.

Ranging across the southern United States from Florida to southern California and south to sub-Amazonian South America.