How does your garden smell?

Is this stink bug a variation on the shield bug, and do any of them harm the crops?

It looks very similar to the hawthorn shield bugs I occasionally see around here.

I found this on the Natural History Museum website:

During the summer, these pesky pests feast on fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, peaches, tomatoes and sweetcorn by piercing the surface and sucking out the juice. They distort the produce and leave behind rotting spots and blemishes which can make the plant inedible or unsellable.

Museum entomologist Max Barclay says, 'If you eat a damaged fruit, there's no risk to your health. The fruit just doesn't look beautiful, so the sale value is reduced. These fruits usually end up as juice.'

'One of the reasons stink bugs are considered pests is because they cluster around window frames in large numbers and leave droppings,' says Max. 'If you try and sweep them away, they will produce these unpleasant-smelling oils which will stain the furniture. If the oils get on your fingers, it's really hard to remove.'

So yes, pretty nasty all round!