Shieldbugs on gorse

22 Thursday Apr 2021

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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.

210422 hairy shieldbug (2)

281/366 Hairy and handsome

07 Wednesday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British bugs, Hairy shieldbug, shieldbug

I imagine this little guy was trying to shelter on this building wall, attempting, as I was, to avoid the worst of the wind and rain. At least it could easily fly off into the nearby bushes, whereas I had a 20-minute uphill walk to get home. Oh, and in case you don’t know, this is a Hairy shieldbug – you can read more about these handsome creatures in my post Hairy shieldbugs, April 2020.

201007 hairy shieldbug

113/366 Hairy shieldbugs

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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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.

The Shieldbug red-light district

22 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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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.