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Shieldbugs. (4 Viewers)

Surreybirder said:
Very pretty!
Ken
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Yes, they *are* super little plants - a shame they are so rare now.
Talking of rarities and back on topic, the Notable species Sehirus impressus is supposed to be found on this site. It is a tiny black shieldbug about the same size as the Pied Shieldbug and feeds almost exclusively on the semi-parasitic plant, Bastard Toadflax. It is also said to occur in Wiltshire so after some research I shall go hunting - on my hands and knees thugh, I fear ;)
Cheers,

Steve.
 
Having just got the new ID guide I am quite confident that these are
1. Gorse Shieldbug - although i'm not sure what they are doing in my garden (at least 3), no Gorse or Broom any where near but they like the plant they are on along a good number of Green Shieldbugs.
2. Birch Shieldbug - beaten from Honeysuckle growing over coppiced Hazel from a local woodland.
 

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Stuart Read said:
Having just got the new ID guide I am quite confident that these are
1. Gorse Shieldbug - although i'm not sure what they are doing in my garden (at least 3), no Gorse or Broom any where near but they like the plant they are on along a good number of Green Shieldbugs.
2. Birch Shieldbug - beaten from Honeysuckle growing over coppiced Hazel from a local woodland.
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Hello Stuart,
Both of your ID's are correct. The English common names for Shieldbugs can be a bit missleading, for although they can often be commonly found on the plant or shrub after which they are named, they are by no means confined to these.

The Gorse Shieldbug for instance can also be found on Laburnum as well as Gorse and Broom, all produce long 'pea pod' like seedpods which are the usual place for the females to lay eggs on. The Birch Shieldbug will also lay on many different species of shrub.

Most adult Shieldbugs (but not all) are sap suckers and after hibernation will feed on any plant there there is a good flow of sap readily available.

It's always pleasing to me, to see more people taking an active interest in these very ancient insects, they are much neglected, keep up the good work.

Harry.
 
brianhstone said:
Found one of these at Weeting, Norfolk yesterday. They are active little fellas and certainly not easy to get a good pic of.
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Don't these Pied Shieldbugs ever keep still! (1st picture).

Meanwhile in the same sweep Eysarcoris fabricii I believe (2nd picture).

Both smart little Shieldbugs.

Stuart.
 

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Stuart Read said:
Don't these Pied Shieldbugs ever keep still! (1st picture).

Meanwhile in the same sweep Eysarcoris fabricii I believe (2nd picture).

Both smart little Shieldbugs.

Stuart.
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Both your ID's are correct Stuart,

What really upsets me, (read pisses me off) is that some newby Hemipterist comes along and casually drops into this thread two species I've have been seeking in my neck of the woods for bloody decades without even getting a sniff of either of them. Not only does he get both of them, but gets them in one sweep of the net. Sheesh. :storm:

Just kidding Stuart, Honest. One of the advantages of living 'down south'. Just out of personal curiosity, what type of habitat were you sweeping?

If you haven't already got a copy, there is a very good book that has just been published on Shieldbugs this year.

It's called:- A photographic Guide to the Shieldbugs and Squashbugs of the British Isles. By Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. Price £14.95. I can honestly recommend it. It's in the Wildguide Series.

Harry
 
Hi Harry

Yes i got hold of a copy of that book last week, hence the correct id's.

The habitat was a fairly freshly cleared area of scrub to create an open 'pond'/wet patch at a local recreational area, having spent an hour in fruitless search for ladybirds/shieldbugs i swept the nettles/thistles/etc including some White Dead Nettle in this area next to the car park! & bingo 2 of each.

Stuart.
 
Stuart Read said:
Hi Harry

Yes i got hold of a copy of that book last week, hence the correct id's.

The habitat was a fairly freshly cleared area of scrub to create an open 'pond'/wet patch at a local recreational area, having spent an hour in fruitless search for ladybirds/shieldbugs i swept the nettles/thistles/etc including some White Dead Nettle in this area next to the car park! & bingo 2 of each.

Stuart.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Stuart, I've swept the same plant species many times over the years, but haven't had your luck.

Harry
 
Something I forgot to mention was the wet area was in a hollow & that the 2 Shieldbugs were swept from the South facing part of the hollow, i had also swept the North & East facing slopes without success.

Stuart.
 
Stuart Read said:
Something I forgot to mention was the wet area was in a hollow & that the 2 Shieldbugs were swept from the South facing part of the hollow, i had also swept the North & East facing slopes without success.

Stuart.
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Hello Stuart,

South facing slopes always are the warmest spots, I've tried those myself, but it appears that I am just too far north for the majority of Shieldbug species, (sob) although a few species of shieldbug have been moving slowly northwards in the last few decades.

Unfortunately, I think that I myself, will be extinct, before most of them get this far north. lol. Even common southern species like the Green Shieldbug are ultra rare up here, in the far North-East of England.

Harry
 
the one that got away

Harry, a bug that I think was probably a shieldbug was on my car windscreen this p.m. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera handy and while I was looking for something to catch it in it flew away.
It seemed to be vaguely shield shaped, generally a sort of pinkish brown colour (above) with a small white mark at the front end of the 'shield'. I know that's not much of a description but I wonder if it means anything to you. At a very rough guess I'd say it was about 12mm long.
Ken
 
From now on Ken always carry a pot with you (you've reminded me to put one back in my pocket). I carried a few around all summer last year. You never know when that little goodie is going to drop by! ;)
 
Surreybirder said:
Harry, a bug that I think was probably a shieldbug was on my car windscreen this p.m. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera handy and while I was looking for something to catch it in it flew away.
It seemed to be vaguely shield shaped, generally a sort of pinkish brown colour (above) with a small white mark at the front end of the 'shield'. I know that's not much of a description but I wonder if it means anything to you. At a very rough guess I'd say it was about 12mm long.
Ken
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Helo Ken,
On a fleeting description I can't be positive over an ID as it could apply to several species. Many species are just out of hibernation and still showing their winter colours. To be frank (instead of Harry) I would need a better description or a photograph to be sure. Sorry.


Many years ago I learned to take a 2x1 specimen tube (or several) with me wherever I go. I even have a spm tube on my bedside table (No it's not for that type of specimen) lol.

Harry
 
One of my Buddleia is a brothel!

Out in the garden and noticed a few Green shieldbugs on a smallish Buddleia. On closer inspection I counted 49, most of them in cop. There must have been more but I didn't turn any leaves. I checked 6 other Buddleia in the garden and found none...
 
Angus T said:
Out in the garden and noticed a few Green shieldbugs on a smallish Buddleia. On closer inspection I counted 49, most of them in cop. There must have been more but I didn't turn any leaves. I checked 6 other Buddleia in the garden and found none...
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That's a hell of a lot of Shieldbugs Angus, I don't get that species here or rasther I have never found it locally although there are a very few records from the 1850' to 1990's.

I envy you the sight of so many.

Harry
 
harry eales said:
That's a hell of a lot of Shieldbugs Angus, I don't get that species here or rasther I have never found it locally although there are a very few records from the 1850' to 1990's.

I envy you the sight of so many.

Harry
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Harry, I was rather hoping you were going to elaborate more on why there were samy many on a 4ft X 4ft shrub and none on the others ;)
 
Angus T said:
Harry, I was rather hoping you were going to elaborate more on why there were samy many on a 4ft X 4ft shrub and none on the others ;)
Click to expand...

Hello Angus,

A great many insects find their mates by scent and the Shieldbugs do emit a rather strong smell which, although often used for defensive purposes, may also help other specimens to locate each other.

It's quite likely that it started with just one Shieldbug, feeding on the sap rich
new shoots of Buddlia. The scent attracted another specimen and so on, the more specimens that were present, the stronger the scent, and the greater the lure to other specimens in the vicinity.

A few years ago when seeking the Juniper Shieldbug in the Northumberland uplands, I had beaten over 50 female berry bearing Juniper bushes and found none at all, yet when I tried another bush there were over 25 specimens all together on a single branch, so it seems like communal grouping for mating purposes does occur frequently with several , if not all, Shieldbug species.

Many Shieldbug species are known to accumulate in such a way to find mates in spring. After mating the females will disperse into the surrounding area to lay. It would appear likely that the individual Buddlia was where the first specimen alighted, and other specimens were attracted there. It could I suppose, have chosen any of your Buddlias, it just happened to choose that particular one.

It would be interesting to experiment with the possibilities of assembling Shieldbugs in the same way as we use virgin moths to attract males. As far as I am aware, no one has done this with Shieldbugs in the past. The problem is I suppose, is in finding a virgin female Shieldbug in the first place.

Harry
 
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