16 Wednesday Mar 2022
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) . . .
two Hairy shieldbugs (Dolycoris baccarum) . . .
and two Dock bugs (Coreus marginatus).
22 Thursday Apr 2021
Tags
British insects, British shieldbugs, Dolycoris baccarum, gorse, Gorse shieldbug, Hairy shieldbug, Piezodorus lituratus, shieldbugs on gorse
I had expected to find Gorse shieldbugs on these glowing gorse bushes (the clue’s in the name) but, in fact, the most numerous were the Hairy shieldbugs (of which there must have been at least 20).
The Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) (above left) looks very like a Common green shieldbug but its red antennae are a distinctive identification feature. The Hairy shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) (above right, and below) is a much more colourful character, a stylish combination of purple-brown and green, and it also has distinctive antennae, this time three white bands on a black base.
22 Wednesday Apr 2020
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.
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.
22 Tuesday May 2018
Tags
British insects, Dolycoris baccarum, Green shieldbug, Hairy shieldbug, Palomena prasina, shield bugs, shieldbug
There’s a little track I often walk down, or up, between my home and Penarth Marina, that’s not been touched by the Council’s destructive strimmers (so far), so it’s a great place to look for wildflowers and critters, and it can take me 30 minutes or more to walk its 100 metres.
When I walked this way the other day, I came across this little Green shieldbug (Palomena prasina). Just look at that innocent-looking face … but don’t be fooled. It was probably the only one of maybe 30 Green shieldbugs I saw that was on its own – all the others were working on ensuring the continuation of their species.
Even the Hairy shieldbugs (Dolycoris baccarum) I found (only 3 of those) were at it! Given all the bad news we hear these days about declining insect populations, I hope this means the shieldbugs are doing okay.
17 Thursday Aug 2017
Posted in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers
Tags
British insects, Dolycoris baccarum, Green shieldbug, insect behaviour, insects on teasels, Palomena prasina, Sloe shieldbug, Teasel
This is the sight that greeted me as I wandered home through Dingle Park the other day.
A Sloe shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) had its head buried deeply into the gaps between the spines of a teasel flower head. The tiny purple flowers had finished so it wasn’t nectaring, and I would’ve thought the flower head too tough for it to be sucking plant sap, so what on earth was it doing?
This little Green shieldbug nymph (Palomena prasina), watching from a nearby grass stem (you can see it in the background of the first image), looked as confused and bemused as I was.
After a few minutes, the Parent bug backed out of its spiny possie but it didn’t move from the teasel.
This was a good opportunity to get a photo of the underside of the bug … but I never did discover what it had been doing.
earthstar 
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