The forest bug, Pentatoma rufipes, is a species of shield bug

Shield bug

Pentatomoidea is a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order and, as such, share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts...

 in the family Pentatomidae

Pentatomidae

Pentatomidae, Greek pente meaning five and tomos meaning section, is a family of insects belonging to order hemiptera that includes some of the stink bugs and shield bugs. Their antennae are 5-segmented, which gives the family its scientific name. Their bodies are usually shield-shaped...

. It is a common and widespread species found in forests and woodlands worldwide. It is shiny dark brown with red-orange markings on its body and bright orange legs. It is shaped like an escutcheon-type shield, flat, and about 14 millimetre (0.551181102362205 in) long. Its distinguishing characteristic is a pair of plates extending forward from the shoulders at the front of its dorsal thorax.

The forest bug's main food source is any of several species of oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

. It is a sap-feeder and uses piercing mouthparts to withdraw the liquid. It can also be found on other species of deciduous trees. The forest bug is also an agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

and garden pest, as it will not hesitate to feed on fruit and nut trees. Occasionally it will consume other insects.

Adults lay eggs during the summer in the cracks of tree bark, and the larvae hatch the following spring.