Shieldbugs. (8 Viewers)

[Timedrifter]

This turned up on the wall of my house this morning. If my ID is right it's a middle to late instar of the Sloe/Hairy Shieldbug. Not much bigger than a Ladybird and nothing like as bright. Like a lot of the previous posters, I just love Shieldbugs. The best source of info I've found so far, are the pages of British Bugs (link below) and if you click on any of the groups, you'll be taken to a page of piccies - very useful.
http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/idcards/life_stages.html

 

[Surreybirder]

Anyone able to ID this - seen in Crete on c14th October.
Thanks,
Ken

 

[Surreybirder]

Looking in Chinery there's one called Graphosoma italicum which looksa candidate. Any views?

 

[paul47]

I'll speculate - Graphosoma creticum??

 

[Surreybirder]

I'm now heading towards Graphosoma semipunctatum!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphosoma_semipunctatum

 

[harry eales]

This turned up on the wall of my house this morning. If my ID is right it's a middle to late instar of the Sloe/Hairy Shieldbug. Not much bigger than a Ladybird and nothing like as bright. Like a lot of the previous posters, I just love Shieldbugs. The best source of info I've found so far, are the pages of British Bugs (link below) and if you click on any of the groups, you'll be taken to a page of piccies - very useful.
http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/idcards/life_stages.html

Your correct Timedrifter, it is a nymph of the Sloe Bug.

Harry

 

[DaveAitch]

I haven't looked through all the pages yet, so I don't know if you have any photos of these on here.

Parent Bug (Elasmucha grisea), 5th instar. 2006/07/22, just after 5pm.

These "overnighted" on a silver birch leaf in the back garden. In the late afternoon they all trooped down onto this leaf and huddled up for the night. By the time I got up the next day, there they were, gone. I didn't have a good macro lens at that time so I didn't get a decent shot.

 

[DaveAitch]

The best source of info I've found so far, are the pages of British Bugs (link below) and if you click on any of the groups, you'll be taken to a page of piccies - very useful.

Ditto. I did comment elsewhere that "This is how websites should collate information, drawings and photographs."

 

[minkstone]

My wife found this in the yard today, is it a vernal shieldbug, thanks in advance.

 

[steve covey]

My wife found this in the yard today, is it a vernal shieldbug, thanks in advance.

Looks like Red-legged Shieldbug/Forest Bug [Pentatoma rufipes] to me!

 

[harry eales]

Steve is correct it is a Forest Shieldbug. P.rufipes

Harry

 

[DaveAitch]

From the garden last week: Elasmostethus interstinctus Birch Shieldbug. I suppose it's one of the advantages of having a birch tree in the garden.

Adult, taken on 21/08/2013, which had found its way onto the rose bush.

 

[DaveAitch]

...and a few days later (and unable to load them all onto the one page)...Elasmostethus interstinctus Birch Shieldbug.

5th Instar, which was on the underside of a sun umbrella. Photos 2 & 3, moving it to safety and a chance to look at its ventral surface. Photo 5 shows another adult.

 

[steve covey]

Down Shieldbug refound!

I see there have been no posts for some time on here so thought I'd get the ball rolling again!
Last Thursday a friend and I visited Pewsey Downs NNR in the hope of finding the Down Shieldbug (Canthophorus impressus) which was noted in the original SSSI documentation and hadn't been recorded there since 1984. I'm pleased to report we were successful! In an area of sheep terracing roughly 1000 square metres we found 14 individuals. This is a nationally rare species and is limited to quality chalk grassland with a mix of short turf and bare chalk patches - and it's only know foodplant Bastard Toadflax! This is the second site in 2 years where we have refound this species, so this post it to suggest a look in the local records of your biological records centre may yield historical locations which might pay a revisit!

 

[Surreybirder]

A bit of a red herring, I'm afraid, but I was in Virginia recently (staying at a conference centre at Airlie). There were warnings in the bedroom about not squashing 'stink bugs' (for obvious reasons). I rather liked the fact that the notice ended: with apologies on behalf of the 780 million stink bugs in Virginia. The only live one I saw was on the buffet table in the main dining room - there were not warnings about eating the bugs. I'm not sure what species they were but they were definitely what we Europeans call shieldbugs. They were generally dark and rather featureless - about 1 cm long.

 

[aeshna5]

A bit of a red herring, I'm afraid, but I was in Virginia recently (staying at a conference centre at Airlie). There were warnings in the bedroom about not squashing 'stink bugs' (for obvious reasons). I rather liked the fact that the notice ended: with apologies on behalf of the 780 million stink bugs in Virginia. The only live one I saw was on the buffet table in the main dining room - there were not warnings about eating the bugs. I'm not sure what species they were but they were definitely what we Europeans call shieldbugs. They were generally dark and rather featureless - about 1 cm long.

Maybe Halyomorpha halys- an Asian species that has become very invasive in the US, causing economic problems with crops + invading buildings apparently. Think it's been found a couple of times here in the UK with imported plants from the near continent where it's now established.

 

[Surreybirder]

http://www.liveharrisonburg.com/blo...bugs-invade-virginia_1358286499/index.php?f=1

 

[steve covey]

Hopefully our climate is too cold for them to become established and a pest. Although the Harlequin Ladybird has followed a similar pattern in the States - and become well established here too. So who knows....

 

[LizandDave]

Last 2 weeks have seen adults of Common Green, Birch and Dock, all North Kent.
Dave

 

[robhope]

Bronze Shieldbug - Troilus luridus

Found a nice final instar Bronze Shieldbug - Troilus luridus at Pagham Harbour yesterday.

robhope