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Green beetle? (1 Viewer)

jeff

jeff

Well-known member
This was sitting in the garden the other day. Any ideas what it is?

TIA
 

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Definately a bug and not a beetle.

Looks a little like the Gorse Shield Bug I posted yesterday but I'll leave it for an expert to be more precise.
 
jeff said:
This was sitting in the garden the other day. Any ideas what it is?

TIA
Click to expand...

Looks like a Green Shield, but no idea is it is a Gorse. The experts will be able to tell us. I see these on the leaves of my Lilac tree. I wonder if they do any damage?

Nerine
 
Michael Frankis said:
Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina)

Gorse SB is similar, but has completely brown wings, not just the tips brown

Michael
Click to expand...

Green Shield Bug, Thanks. Just done a web search, looks like they are harmless to the garden so i'll leave it be :)

Cheers

Jeff
 
jeff said:
This was sitting in the garden the other day. Any ideas what it is? TIA
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff,
Your Shieldbug is Palomina prasina, The Common Green Shieldbug.
It differs from the Gorse shieldbug in being a different shade of green with a very distinct black membrane on the tips of the forewings, and is much less heavily punctated over most of the upper body. It's a frequent find in gardens south of Yorkshire/Cumbria.

I don't know who named it the Common Green Shieldbug, it's a bloody rare thing in the north-east of England with only one record during the 20thC. I have looked for it on many occasions but have yet to find it locally.

Harry.
 
harry eales said:
Hi Jeff,
Your Shieldbug is Palomina prasina, The Common Green Shieldbug.
It differs from the Gorse shieldbug in being a different shade of green with a very distinct black membrane on the tips of the forewings, and is much less heavily punctated over most of the upper body. It's a frequent find in gardens south of Yorkshire/Cumbria.

I don't know who named it the Common Green Shieldbug, it's a bloody rare thing in the north-east of England with only one record during the 20thC. I have looked for it on many occasions but have yet to find it locally.

Harry.
Click to expand...

Must be common in the Midlands if i've got one in my garden.
 
Hi Harry,


harry eales said:
I don't know who named it the Common Green Shieldbug, it's a bloody rare thing in the north-east of England with only one record during the 20thC
Click to expand...
Are you sure on that? I've seen them in / around Newcastle a few times - can't recollect specific dates or anything though, as I didn't think they were anything to take special note of. Definitely had one in the garden last year.

Michael
 
Nerine said:
Looks like a Green Shield, but no idea is it is a Gorse. The experts will be able to tell us. I see these on the leaves of my Lilac tree. I wonder if they do any damage?

Nerine
Click to expand...

Hi Nerine,
The Green Shieldbug P.prasinais a common species on many garden plants and trees and they are predominantly sapsuckers. Nymph will eat the unripened seeds of many plants. The adults change colour in the autumn and only reach their full green colour in the Spring. They frequently change location so their ability to damage your plants is minimal.

There is a very similar Shieldbug on the Continent called nezara viridula, this sometimes turns up in Supermarkets in this country and I have several records for the Tyneside area, all from shops selling fruit or/and vegetables.

Harry Eales.
 
All the true Bugs whether predatory or herbivorous suck liquids as nymph or adult through a straw-like mouthpart. I presume Harry that by the word "eat" you mean suck when referring to the nymph eating un-ripened seeds not having chewing mouthparts as it were?
 
Michael Frankis said:
Hi Harry,



Are you sure on that? I've seen them in / around Newcastle a few times - can't recollect specific dates or anything though, as I didn't think they were anything to take special note of. Definitely had one in the garden last year.

Michael
Click to expand...

Hi Michael,

There is a mid 1850's record from Jesmond Dene, in Newcastle upon Tyne and another in the late 1990's from Ryton Willows in Durham. These are the only known records from either Northumberland and Durham. I have recorded Shieldbugs for some 12 years and go beating and sweeping for them regularly.
I have also conducted a museum and literature search, records for any species are few and far between. The last local naturalist to do any work on these was Thomas John Bold and he died in the 1850's.

The Gorse Shieldbug is very common in both counties on Gorse and Broom even in town gardens. I would be obliged if you could let me have any additional records you may make for this species. Thanks in anticipation.

Harry
 
Thanks, Harry. It's definitely Palomena prasina that I found in the garden. I found 2 or 3 a few weeks ago on the lilac leaves but they seem to have moved on so no damage done.

Thanks for your help.

Nerine
 
steve_nova said:
All the true Bugs whether predatory or herbivorous suck liquids as nymph or adult through a straw-like mouthpart. I presume Harry that by the word "eat" you mean suck when referring to the nymph eating un-ripened seeds not having chewing mouthparts as it were?
Click to expand...

Your right Steve I did mean suck. Sorry.

Harry
 
Hi Harry,

My garden is right next to Jesmond Dene. I'll keep my eye out and let you know if I find any more! Let me know if you want to come up here on a search, too.

I wonder if they're commoner in suburban gardens after being imported on plants bought mail order from nurseries further south? (and less reported too, due to lack of public access to entomologists!)

Michael
 
harry eales said:
Hi Jeff,
Your Shieldbug is Palomina prasina, The Common Green Shieldbug.
It differs from the Gorse shieldbug in being a different shade of green with a very distinct black membrane on the tips of the forewings, and is much less heavily punctated over most of the upper body. It's a frequent find in gardens south of Yorkshire/Cumbria.

I don't know who named it the Common Green Shieldbug, it's a bloody rare thing in the north-east of England with only one record during the 20thC. I have looked for it on many occasions but have yet to find it locally.

Harry.
Click to expand...
I'll be paying more attention to the Green Shield Bugs in and around my garden in future. I know that insects are notoriously difficult for the layman to recognise, but finding one of these would not be a surprise to me at all... but then I guess they all "look the same".

(BTW... if I get 100, do I get some sort of discount???)
 
Michael Frankis said:
Hi Harry,

My garden is right next to Jesmond Dene. I'll keep my eye out and let you know if I find any more! Let me know if you want to come up here on a search, too.

I wonder if they're commoner in suburban gardens after being imported on plants bought mail order from nurseries further south? (and less reported too, due to lack of public access to entomologists!)

Michael
Click to expand...

You may very well be right Michael. With the importation and movement around the country of what must total millions of plants, shrubs and trees it's highly likely that a lot of insect species get moved around unintentionally. It can certainly make a mess of record data.

The Green Shieldbug is a common garden resident 'down south' often found on fruit bushes such as Raspberry and other soft fruit.

There are so few workers who record the less popular insect groups it is certainly possible to detect new species to add to the County List. I did so back in 2000 by adding the Juniper Shieldbug to the Northumberland list. I found it on several upland sites in western and north Northumberland. Yet Southwood and Leston stated in their book that the most northerly record was from Witherslack in south Cumbria and that record needed confirming. I'm sure there are other species out there yet to be found. I also found the first Northumberland record for Troilus luridusThe stealthy Shieldbug in the Derwent Valley where I live. If you see a specimen of the Green Shieldbug could you capture it and get in touch, I would love to see one. I'm only 12 miles out of the city so could be at your place in half an hour.

Harry
 
birdman said:
I'll be paying more attention to the Green Shield Bugs in and around my garden in future. I know that insects are notoriously difficult for the layman to recognise, but finding one of these would not be a surprise to me at all... but then I guess they all "look the same".

(BTW... if I get 100, do I get some sort of discount???)
Click to expand...

Hello Birdman,
Actually the British Shieldbuds are very distinctive with little room for error in their identification, in fact a lot easier than sorting out which Warbler is which. Bye the way, if you find 100 Shieldbugs in your garden you will have all the Hemipterists in the country calling round for 'Tea' thats all four dozen of us. lol

Harry
 
harry eales said:
Hello Birdman,
.... if you find 100 Shieldbugs in your garden you will have all the Hemipterists in the country calling round for 'Tea' thats all four dozen of us. lol
Click to expand...

I reckon I've had over a hundred in my garden. Mostly "Bronze Orange Bugs" all over my lemon trees but that was back in Australia.
 
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