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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Dock bug

Blackberries, yum!

25 Monday Jul 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

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Tags

blackberries, Bramble berries, Dock bug, Dock bug nymph, insects on blackberries

Yesterday’s first tasting of this season’s blackberries nearly ended in disaster – not for me, but for this teeny weeny Dock bug nymph that was hiding on the far side of a berry but managed to scurry quickly on to my hand before I ate it. The berry was still a bit sour but at least it wasn’t crunchy!
*Note to self: always inspect the berries before eating them.

220725 blackberry and dock bug nymph

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Sunbathing bugs

16 Wednesday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British bugs, Common Green Shieldbug, Coreus marginatus, Dock bug, Dolycoris baccarum, Hairy shieldbug, Palomena prasina

The shallow bowl shape of the leaves of Winter heliotrope were perfect for the bugs enjoying Monday’s warm spring sunshine. In one small sheltered area I found several Common green shieldbugs (Palomena prasina) . . .

220316 common green shieldbug

two Hairy shieldbugs (Dolycoris baccarum) . . .

220316 hairy shieldbug

and two Dock bugs (Coreus marginatus).

220316 dock bug

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273/366 Dock bugs young and old

29 Tuesday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

Dock bug, Dock bug nymph, Late instar dock bug

On recent sunny days, Dock bugs, both young and old, have been out basking in the sunshine.

200929 dock bug (1)

I often find them on Bramble leaves and, occasionally, on the berries, though, according to the British Bugs website (which also has a helpful chart showing their different stages of development), they don’t eat these (not surprisingly, their main food source is Dock, as well as other plants in the Polygonaceae family).

200929 dock bug (2)
200929 dock bug (3)

200929 dock bug (4)

Though their brown colour is quite obvious on Bramble leaves, that same non-descript colour and their ragged shape mean Dock bugs (Coreus marginatus) can be very inconspicuous. I only spotted the one below because it moved.

200929 dock bug (5)

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111/366 It’s a bugs’ life

20 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British bugs, Coreus marginatus, Dock bug, Green shieldbug, Palomena prasina, shieldbug

First, the sunbathing – sometimes alone …

200420 green shieldbug

… sometimes with a friend.

200420 dock bug

Then, later, the sex!

200420 2 green shieldbugs

Credits: Today’s post has featured the Green shieldbug (Palomena prasina) and the Dock bug (Coreus marginatus).

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123/365 A Bramble confection

03 Friday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British insects, Dock bug, Eristalis sp, Green shieldbug, harlequin ladybird, hoverfly, insects on bramble, Nursery web spider, Speckled wood, Syrphus sp, wasp

Ingredients: 1 patch of Bramble, lashings of sunshine, a tablespoon of warmth, a dash of Springtime
Method: Stand and stare
Result: Nursery web spider, Dock bug, hoverfly (Syrphus sp.), Speckled wood butterfly, Green shieldbug, bee species, another hoverfly (Eristalis sp.), Harlequin ladybird, and wasp (Vespula sp.).

190503 critters on bramble (1)
190503 critters on bramble (2)
190503 critters on bramble (3)
190503 critters on bramble (4)
190503 critters on bramble (5)
190503 critters on bramble (6)
190503 critters on bramble (7)
190503 critters on bramble (8)
190503 critters on bramble (9)

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Bugs are like buses

16 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Tags

British bugs, Coreus marginatus, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Dock bug

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 …

180816 dock bugs (5)
180816 dock bugs (4)
180816 dock bugs (2)
180816 dock bugs (1)

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Dock bug baby

05 Tuesday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British insects, Coreus marginatus, Dock bug, Dock bug nymph, Late instar dock bug

I blogged about the Dock bug (Coreus marginatus) back in October last year and mentioned then that, in common with most bugs, these mini-beasties go through five larval / nymph stages before they become adults, though I had only ever seen the adult bugs … until yesterday.

170905 Dock bug Late instar (1)

I was indulging in the odd mouthful of ripe blackberry as I wandered around Cathays Cemetery when my hand was stopped in its reach by the glare of this little critter. It obviously had its eye on the succulent ripeness of that very same blackberry and was certainly not going to be intimidated by any gigantic human hand reaching towards it. I relinquished the berry!

170905 Dock bug Late instar (2)

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Random creatures of Barry

24 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Barry, Crab spider, Dock bug, Garden snails, Glamorgan Botany Group, Grene shieldbug, hoverflies, insects, ladybirds, Orange-tip butterfly, slow-worm

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I spent a wonderful day on Saturday exploring and examining some of the town of Barry’s wilder green spaces with members of the Glamorgan Botany Group. But, of course, you can’t spend a whole day looking at plants without also seeing an awful lot of the critters that live on those plants and I admit to being a trifle distracted at times … by a sunshine-yellow Crab spider, by fluttering butterflies and buzzing hoverflies, by plentiful dock and shield bugs, by the sad sight of a dead Slow-worm. Some of the lovely old stone houses and churches we passed were pretty cool too!

170424 1 Creatures of Barry
170424 2 Creatures of Barry
170424 3 Creatures of Barry
170424 4 Creatures of Barry
170424 5 Creatures of Barry
170424 6 Old buildings of Barry
170424 7 Creatures of Barry
170424 8 Creatures of Barry
170424 9 Creatures of Barry
170424 10 Old buildings of Barry
170424 11 Creatures of Barry
170424 12 Creatures of Barry

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Dedicated to the Dock bug

17 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

bugs on dock, Coreus marginatus, Dock bug, Squashbug

When the Dock bug found out that his cousin the Green shield bug had received a blog post all to himself, he was not amused. Was he not as lovely? Was he not as worthy of attention? Well, yes, angry little Dock bug, you most certainly are, so here is your moment in the spotlight!

161017-dock-bug-1

Coreus marginatus is the Dock bug’s scientific name, and he’s a largish (13-15mm), broadish, reddish-brownish sap-sucker. Luckily, his sap-sucking is restricted to the leaves of docks and sorrels so he’s not the pest that some other members of the squashbug (bugs on squash plants) family can be.

161017-dock-bug-2

Mr and Mrs Dock bug seek each other out in the springtime to create the new generation, then, once hatched, their offspring, like most True bugs, go through five nymph stages before emerging as adults from about August. I’ve only ever seen the adults, in the shrubs, bushes and hedgerows alongside many of my walking trails, but there are plenty around – three sitting close together on one sunny leaf just last week. As well as inhabiting much of southern Britain, the Dock bug can also be found throughout Europe, in many Asian countries and in parts of North Africa.

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161017-dock-bug-4
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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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