I was listening to the Diane Rheam Show today. They were talking about the serious problems of the invasive marmorated stink bugs that apparently showed up in the US in the 90s from Asia. The serious issue other than wide crop damage was that they like to move into houses and are hard to get rid of. The show did say that there were native stink bugs that weren't such a serious problem, but they didn't describe the difference when I was listening anyway.

Now I got to NC in 2005, and observed a similar insect laying eggs and growing on squash plants in my garden. These bugs didn't seem to do much damage and they stayed around the squash plants. I have almost given up growing squash because of the squash borer moths rather than these bugs. The adult invasive bugs appear to be identical to those I have seen. They are shield shaped, brown/charcoal with a darker triangle at the bottom of the 'shield'. The young bugs are white like the invasive ones. However the differences are that the little round eggs in patches that I observe, are copper colored rather than white; and supposedly the invasive nymphs are roundish orange bugs that hang around the eggs. I have never noticed such things.

So: am I just seeing some only slightly annoying beetle, or are these the beginnings of the coming plague?