Tag Archives: British bugs

113/366 Hairy shieldbugs

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

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You wouldn’t think an insect that looks like it’s wearing armour (hence ‘shield’ bug) could be hairy but the Hairy shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) is living proof. It’s difficult to see the hairs when you’re viewing them in full sunshine, as their shield-shaped backs are quite shiny, but if you can get a close view in a shady setting, you can see the hairs on their legs and, in my photo below, along the top of the shield.

200422 hairy shieldbug (5)

I found at least 20, probably more, of these handsome creatures in the scrub alongside a seldom-walked local path, and will be keeping an eye on this area to see if I can spot their offspring in the coming months, as it’s always interesting to see the different stages of growth. You can see images of these different instars, not only for the Hairy shieldbug but also for all the other shieldbug species, on the excellent British Bugs website.

290/365 Woundwort shieldbug

17 Thursday Oct 2019

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As well as the cute little flower bug I found on Hedge woundwort (see yesterday’s post), on a nearby plant I also found this Woundwort shieldbug (Eysarcoris venustissimus), its jewel-like colours shining in the sunlight.

191017 Woundwort shieldbug (1)

As the name implies, Hedge woundwort is one of the plants this bug’s larvae feed upon. Apparently, these shieldbugs were considered rare in the 19th century but their situation has improved and the adults can now be found year round in much of southern Britain.

191017 Woundwort shieldbug (2)

Galls on Red valerian

22 Tuesday Jan 2019

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I first noticed these strange rolled-up leaf edges about a week ago, in the lane behind my house, and, since then, I’ve seen them in several places locally.

190122 trioza centranthi (1)

The plant is Red valerian (Centranthus ruber) and the leaf-rolls are galls, almost certainly caused by the larvae of a little bug called Trioza centranthi. The gall is where it makes its home until it matures into an adult bug, and you can see some of the larvae in the lower right photo below.

Amazingly, I photographed the little bug (see below) on one of the plants and I think this is the adult. I’ve read that Trioza centranthi is quite uncommon and, certainly, there are only 3 records in Aderyn, the Welsh biodiversity database but I imagine this is to do with under-recording rather than rarity.

190122 trioza centranthi (6)

Rhododendron leafhoppers

20 Saturday Oct 2018

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I enjoyed a delightful long meander in Cardiff’s magnificent Bute Park yesterday (there will be a blog, probably tomorrow, once I finish going through my photos) and, in the course of that, I made sure to visit one particular small patch of rhododendron. The reason is these little critters, Rhododendron leafhoppers (Graphocephala fennahi).

181020 Graphocephala fennahi (5)

If you’ve been here a while, you may remember I blogged about them back in August 2016, when I was first introduced to them. I wasn’t sure they’d still be around this late in the year, and there certainly weren’t very many of them, but two or three were hopping from leaf to leaf whenever I tried to get near enough for photos. I’ve since read, on the British Bugs website, that they can be seen as late as November, feeding on rhododendron sap and laying their eggs in the leaf buds.

Leafhoppers come in a splendid variety of colours hence this 2019 diary note: *Note to self: make more of an effort to look for leafhoppers next spring/summer*.

181020 Graphocephala fennahi (1)

Bugs are like buses

16 Thursday Aug 2018

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I hadn’t seen any Dock bugs (Coreus marginatus) for a couple of months and then suddenly, at Cosmeston the other day, I saw 11 on one plant!

180816 dock bugs (3)

Now that I’ve read up on them, I understand the sightings gap: it seems adults mate and lay their eggs in the springtime, the nymphs munch away on dock and their other favourite plants for a couple of months and, by August, they have developed into new adults. And here they are …

Walking on water

29 Sunday Apr 2018

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When I took this photo of a pond skater flitting about on a pond at a local nature reserve, I thought it would be easy to identify – ever the optimist, me! Then I discovered that there are, in fact, nine species of pond skater in Britain, though I think this is most likely to be the Common pond skater (Gerris lacustris).

180429 pond skater

I was fascinated to learn that this bug has water-repellent hairs on its feet and that’s how it’s able to ‘walk’ over the surface of still water. It uses its long middle legs to ‘row’ and its hind legs trail along behind like a kind of rudder. Amazing!

Two more leafhoppers

16 Sunday Jul 2017

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I’ve been leaf-turning again and one thing you’re almost sure to find if you turn over enough leaves is a leafhopper. These are two recent finds, their identities now confirmed by the national recorder. Both are small – around 4mm long when adults, and both can be seen from around June to September.

170712 Eurhadina cocinnia

Eurhadina cocinnia
These little guys have a preference for oak trees but can also be found on other deciduous tree, and are common throughout Britain.

170712 Eurhadina loewii

Eurhadina loewii
E. loewii prefers Sycamore trees and, occasionally, Field maple, and lives in most English counties and in south Wales, but hasn’t yet crossed the Brecon Beacons.

The two photos below are interesting, I think. The one on the left shows E. loweii in its larval form and the photo on the right shows an empty skin, after the larva has gone through one of several moults between its emergence from an egg until the time it’s ready to pupate.

A new Cicadellidae

05 Wednesday Jul 2017

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I had to chuckle when the British Bugs website described this little bug, which is no more than 6mm long, as ‘large’ but, compared to others in the Cicadellidae family – i.e. the leafhoppers – it’s a giant. The website also says it’s a common species but this was the first I’d seen so I obviously haven’t been looking closely enough.

170705 Evacanthus Interruptus (1)

This is Evacanthus interruptus (a female, I believe, as her wings are shorter than the length of her abdomen). They favour tall herbaceous vegetation in meadows, scrubby areas and woodlands, and can be seen between June and October. I’ll be on the look out for more.

Beetle mania!

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

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Sorry, this has nothing to do with the Fab Four and, in fact, includes bugs as well as beetles but, as many of these cute little mini-beasties will soon disappear for the winter, I wanted to celebrate all those that have entertained me through the summer months but haven’t yet had their very own blog post (not because they’re boring, simply because I haven’t gathered enough good photos of them scurrying about their business in the flowers and bushes).

Little bugs and beetles, your time will come … but not till next year!
These have not all been identified to species but my list to date is: Bishop’s Mitre (Aelia acuminata); Click beetle (Elateridae family); Deraeocoris flavilinea; Heterotoma planicornis; Mint Leaf beetle (Chrysolina herbacea); Potato Capsid (Closterotomus norwegicus); Red lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii); four little unknowns; and, to finish, a Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis).