Just another “bug if the week” entry featuring the black stink bug (Proxys punctulatus).  I get one or two calls each year about this insect which shows up periodically in field crops.  The black color, conspicuous white spot on its back, spined shoulders, and black and white legs make the adults easy to identify.  I see the black stink bug most commonly on cotton where it will feed on plants and is also reported to occasionally prey on caterpillars.  It is uncommon enough in Tennessee to just be a curiosity.  I don’t know what the immature stages look like, and pictures are apparently hard to come by.