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Shieldbugs. (7 Viewers)

Thanks, Harry. I've just bought "Insects of Britain and Western Europe" by Chinery which gives a good overview of the various groups but it says that there are several similar species (but perhaps not in the UK?).
BTW, have you looked at the post on what happens to butterflies in bad weather - sounds the sort of question you'd be able to answer!
Cheers,
Ken
 
Surreybirder said:
Thanks, Harry. I've just bought "Insects of Britain and Western Europe" by Chinery which gives a good overview of the various groups but it says that there are several similar species (but perhaps not in the UK?).
BTW, have you looked at the post on what happens to butterflies in bad weather - sounds the sort of question you'd be able to answer!
Cheers,
Ken
Click to expand...

Ken- worth looking out for Southern Green Shieldbug, Nezara viridula, which seems to be establishing now + last year was quite plentiful in parts of London with many nymphs- a friend's Hibiscus was covered in them, much to the consternation of his gardening wife! Haven't heard of them this year, but a possibility they may turn up. The nymphs are very different to those of Palomena.
 
Never seen one like this before

Found this in my front garden yesterday. I wondered if its red colouration was because it was newly emerged. Any thoughts please?
 

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Ugandan Beetle

Shield Bug1.jpg


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I was advised to try this thread.
Can anyone please help identify these colourful rascals for me please before I lose my sight and sanity staring at images? I saw them in the Bigodi Swamp, Uganda and I have called them shield bugs just to put a handle on the picture
 
Vernon Lundy said:
View attachment 107948


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I was advised to try this thread.
Can anyone please help identify these colourful rascals for me please before I lose my sight and sanity staring at images? I saw them in the Bigodi Swamp, Uganda and I have called them shield bugs just to put a handle on the picture
Click to expand...

Hi Vernon,
I'm not sure if anyone here will be able to help as the expertise/experience is mostly of UK and [some] European species. That said, they are definitely Shieldbugs and in one the larval stages [or instars]. Colourful beasts aren't they.
Sorry I can't be of any more help - maybe a search for Ugandan/African shieldbugs may yield something. Some of them are agricultural 'pests' and agricultural research establishments may be able to help with identification.
Cheers,
Steve.
 
Pol said:
Found this in my front garden yesterday. I wondered if its red colouration was because it was newly emerged. Any thoughts please?
Click to expand...
Hi Pol,
doesn't look like anyone has attempted an answer for you so far - so here's my ha'pennys worth! It looks to me like an adult Sloe/Hairy Bug [Dolycoris baccarum] that has only just shed it's final nymphal skin. The wing membranes haven't fully extended yet to cover the end of the abdomen. It would have been worth collecting it and holding it for a few hours to see if it developed into the normal colouration for this species just for confirmation. My main area of interest is Dragonflies and certainly they look pale upon first emergence and this is probably a general thing amongst insects.
It might be worth posting your image to the UK Shieldbugs Yahoo group as well. They are building up a gallery of images of all UK species in their many forms and life stages and I don't recollect seeing an image of a fresh adult Sloe Bug.
HTH,
Cheers,
Steve.
 
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Hello Vernon,

I have to agree with Steve. We don't have a lot of Shieldbug enthusiasts in the UK and those that exist tend to specialise in the British Species.

Steve's advice is worth following up. There's just too many species worldwide for anyone to be an expert on all the Shieldbug species.

I do agree they are late instar nymphs.

Harry
 
Hello Pol,

I think Steve is most probably correct in his belief that it a recently moulted Sloe Bug. From your picture it appears that the right wing elytra in underdeveloped possibly due to an injury in earlier stage, hence the lob-sided look of the specimen.

Harry.
 
I found this beautiful red bug in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains.

Is it a shieldbug? And can anyone give me an identification?

Its main characteristics, apart from the wonderful red colouration were two pale yellow spots on its back, a pale yellow spot on the back of its "head" and pale yellow stripes on its "shoulders".
 

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balkantrek said:
I found this beautiful red bug in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains.

Is it a shieldbug? And can anyone give me an identification?

Its main characteristics, apart from the wonderful red colouration were two pale yellow spots on its back, a pale yellow spot on the back of its "head" and pale yellow stripes on its "shoulders".
Click to expand...

Yes, it is a shieldbug, and no, I don't know what species it is, it's certainly not a British species or a German one. A websearch of Bulgarian Shieldbugs came up with nothing either. Sorry.

Harry
 
balkantrek said:
I found this beautiful red bug in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains.

Is it a shieldbug? And can anyone give me an identification?

Its main characteristics, apart from the wonderful red colouration were two pale yellow spots on its back, a pale yellow spot on the back of its "head" and pale yellow stripes on its "shoulders".
Click to expand...
I agree with Harry, definitely a shieldbug, and I'm wondering if if might be one of the Eurydemas; the shape looks similar just the markings are different. This is quite a common widespread group in Europe and beyond. Perhaps it's a last instar nymph or a freshly emerged adult that has yet to develop it's 'true colours'. It may be worth contacting the Bulgarian agricultural ministry as some of these species are agricultural pests and they may know which species this is.
But, as you say, it is a rather beautiful creature.
Cheers,
Steve.
 
Shieldbug pics

Hi all you shield bug experts. I posted a couple of queries here last year and Harry was kind enough to answer and tell me what they were, and that whet my appetite for this family, so I've been seeing how many I could find and ID this year. I've just posted a page of 15 of them on my website.

http://www.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv3/martinparrsnaturepics.com/wwwroot/page28.htm

I'd be grateful if anyone could let me know if I've identified any of these incorrectly, or confirm all OK. Hopefully they will then help as an ID guide for other newcomers who may "get the bug". ;0)

Many thanks for all help,

kind regards, Martin
 
dippers said:
Hi all you shield bug experts. I posted a couple of queries here last year and Harry was kind enough to answer and tell me what they were, and that whet my appetite for this family, so I've been seeing how many I could find and ID this year. I've just posted a page of 15 of them on my website.

http://www.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv3/martinparrsnaturepics.com/wwwroot/page28.htm

I'd be grateful if anyone could let me know if I've identified any of these incorrectly, or confirm all OK. Hopefully they will then help as an ID guide for other newcomers who may "get the bug". ;0)

Many thanks for all help,

kind regards, Martin
Click to expand...

Hi Martin,
you've 'collected' a nice range of species there and you'll be pleased to know that only one of them is [probably] incorrect. This is the image titled Blue Bug nymphs. I am pretty sure they are, in fact, early instar nymphs of Spiney [or Spiked] Shieldbug [Picromerus bidens]. See my photo on the UKShieldbugs Yahoo Group picture database at:
http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKshieldbugs/photos/view/2c7d?b=1
Cheers,
Steve.
 
Hello Martin,

I agree with Steve, your ID's are good except, as Steve says, for those specimes labelled Blue Bug. I found the enlarged image to be too blurred to
be positive myself as to what they are.

Half the specimes you've seen this year, I have yet to find up here in the NE of England. You've had a good year.

Harry
 
Many thanks Steve and Harry, much appreciated, had a look at your (much better) picture Steve, and I'm sure you are right, it's a much better fit - well the only one I have in focus is. I have to admit this one was pure luck, I was looking for Green Hairstreak and didn't pay much attention. I thought they were a cluster of aphids and just took a passing shot. It wasn't til I looked at home a bit closer that I realised they were something new. Another reminder to always check everything closely!

Still lots of target species missing - forest, juniper and parent should all have been fairly easy from what I've read, but I've never seen the latter 2 and not seen forest this year. Next year maybe!

Thanks again, I'll update the site - and think I'd better check out my butterflies, dragonflies etc to be sure too!

Thanks for the link to the group too - hadn't come across this yet so have now joined, a useful reference work there! Will go through them all later.

Kind regards, Martin
 
You're welcome Martin. I don't know if you already use one, but a sweep net comes in handy for locating the grassland species [as does a sturdy pair of knees to get down on for finding the ground dwelling species!!
Cheers,
Steve.
 
Hi Steve, I don't use a net yet - nor have I tried the umbrella and stick bush beating method that I've seen mentioned here. I try to cover all areas of wildlife which means I currently weigh about half a ton when I get out for walks! Think I need to be more focused and carry different equipment for different targets - but theres never enough time to cover everything I want to see when it's in season. My knees are still OK though, and I'm often found lying on the ground to get closer still - gets some funny looks, but does spark some conversations!

I had a look at your site too, some great pics there. I note you've spread the load, with 5 different contributors collaborating in different areas, great idea.

Cheers, Martin
 
demojohn said:
I got one to snake shield bug .
Click to expand...

Firstly, Happy New Year to all on the forum!
Secondly, sorry for the late response Demojohn. For some reason this post never got passed on by email alert - by chance I came on to give the greeting.
Thirdly, I don't think it's a shieldbug. It looks to me more like one of the Tortoise Beetles; probably Cassida vibex. I've attached a close up of one I took a couple of years ago.
Cheers,
Steve.
 

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