Spined Stinkbug
Loxa flavicollis
This large stink bug (25 mm) was found feeding on developing seed of Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) near Cave Creek, Maricopa Co., Arizona. March 2009.
Pentatomidae -- Stinkbug Family
Given that this adult specimen was photographed in March suggests that in the Sonoran Desert this true bug overwinters as an adult. It might have found cover under loose bark on cottonwoods or other trees in riparian corridors. It was feeding on developing fruits of Fremont Cottonwood. Normally these fruits are borne high in the trees and are difficult to sample for insects. The tree in which this specimen was observed was lodged almost horizontal by a scouring flash flood that had flowed down Cave Creek during a summer thunderstorm.
This insect is subtropical in origins and has been found in the southern tier of the United States, from Florida to Texas and Arizona. It is found also into the Neotropics (Central and South America).