---
title: "Spined Soldier Bug"
description: "Podisus maculiventris — Insects & spiders. Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug, is a medium-sized predatory shield bug common in North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/spined-soldier-bug
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Spined Soldier Bug

> Podisus maculiventris — Insects & spiders. Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug, is a medium-sized predatory shield bug common in North America.

- Scientific name: *Podisus maculiventris*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows), `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 8949
- Wikidata: [Q956388](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q956388)
- iNaturalist taxon: [142277](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/142277)

## Names

- en: Spined Soldier Bug
- es: Chinche soldado espinosa
- fr: Podise à ventre maculé
- nl: Spined soldier bug

## Countries with the most observations

US (1257), CA (171), MX (3)

## Summary

Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug, is a medium-sized predatory shield bug common in North America. It has prominent spines on each "shoulder" and preys on a wide variety of arthropods, particularly the larval forms of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. As a generalist predator of many agricultural pests, P. maculiventris is generally considered a beneficial insect in gardens and crop fields.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spined_soldier_bug

## Photo

![Spined Soldier Bug](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/spined-soldier-bug/medium.jpg)

Photo: unknown · Public domain · commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spined_soldier_bug.jpg

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/spined-soldier-bug?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).