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Tag Archives: Dolycoris baccarum

113/366 Hairy shieldbugs

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British bugs, British shieldbugs, Dolycoris baccarum, Hairy shieldbug, shieldbug

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.

200422 hairy shieldbug (1)
200422 hairy shieldbug (2)
200422 hairy shieldbug (3)
200422 hairy shieldbug (4)

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The Shieldbug red-light district

22 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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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.

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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.

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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.

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What’s on the teasel, 1

17 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 8 Comments

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.

170817 whats on the teasel (1)

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?

170817 whats on the teasel (2)

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.

170817 whats on the teasel (3)

After a few minutes, the Parent bug backed out of its spiny possie but it didn’t move from the teasel.

170817 whats on the teasel (4)

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.

170817 whats on the teasel (5)

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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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