B is for bugs and beetles

07 Sunday Dec 2025

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British beetles, British bugs, Juniper shieldbug, Kleidocerys resedae, new beetle finds, new bug finds

One of my wildlife aims this year has been to try to find as many new species, of all kinds, as possible, and I’ve been extremely lucky to have found many new-to-me bugs and beetles. These include Lesser thorn-tipped longhorn beetle, 4 January; My first Pine ladybird, 10 March; My first Eyed ladybird, 22 April; Fine streaked bugkins, 26 April; Cyllecoris histrionius, adult and nymph, 12 May; Cantharis decipiens, 13 May; Cacopsylla ambigua, 29 May; Rhopalus subrufus, 6 June; Rhabdomiris striatellus, 10 June; Bug: Deraeocoris flavilinea, 28 June; Beetle: Grammoptera ruficornis, 30 July; Beetle: Four-banded longhorn, 2 August; and Bug: Megacoelum infusum, 12 September.

I was particularly chuffed to find my first Juniper shieldbugs (Juniper shieldbug, 3 June) and, now that I know to look for them on some other tree species, I’ve managed to find them on four separate occasions, three of those in the same location as my initial find, on a Cypress growing in a local park, and the other on a different Cypress species growing in one of Cardiff’s oldest cemeteries, alongside Llandaff Cathedral.

Another new bug that I think is particularly attractive is Bug: Kleidocerys resedae. I wrote about that on 27 June, and this is another species that I’ve managed to re-find, on 15 November, when I spotted three different adult bugs within a few metres of each other.

Three shieldbug nymphs

13 Wednesday Aug 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale, British shieldbugs, Bronze shieldbug, Bronze shieldbug nymph, Cyphostethus tristriatus, Hawthorn shieldbug, Juniper shieldbug, shieldbug, shieldbug nymphs, Troilus luridus

I’ve found some nice nymphs of our various shieldbug species during recent walks so thought I’d share a few of them. The nymphs almost always look quite different to the adults of the same species; if you’re unsure which shieldbug or which stage (instar) of nymph you’ve found, the British Bugs website has a page full of excellent drawings showing the various instars of all the British shieldbug species.

As this was only my fourth ever sighting of this species, I was particularly pleased to spot this Bronze shieldbug nymph (Troilus luridus), though it would have been difficult to miss as its metallic colours sparkled in the sunshine.

To illustrate how much these bugs change as they grow, I’ve included two photos of Hawthorn shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale), the top image shows early instar nymphs and below that is a mid instar nymph.

It was just a couple of months ago that I saw my first Juniper shieldbug (Cyphostethus tristriatus) and I wrote then (Juniper shieldbug, 3 June) that I was intending to return to the site to look for more, adults and nymphs. I did, and I have; this is one of two nymphs I found recently, a bug that’s just a stunning as the adult, in my humble opinion.

Juniper shieldbug

03 Tuesday Jun 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, trees

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British shieldbugs, Cyphostethus tristriatus, Juniper shieldbug, shieldbug on Juniper, shieldbug on Lawson's cypress

This is a bug I never thought I’d see locally as I don’t know any locations where Juniper trees grow. Fortunately for me, and as stated on the British Bugs website, the Juniper shieldbug (Cyphostethus tristriatus) has started living on Lawson’s cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) as well as its traditional host tree, the Juniper (Juniperus communis) for which it is named. And Lawson’s cypress is a popular planting in gardens and parks, which is where this tree was growing, alongside a path that runs around a local recreation ground.

British Bugs explains that adult Juniper shieldbugs, with the beautiful reddish-pink markings on their backs, can be seen all year round, though they tend not to be too active during the coldest winter months, like most of us. The nymphs that hatch from mid to late Spring feed on Juniper and Cypress berries and, like all shieldbugs, they go through a series of instars before reaching adulthood. The website has excellent, illustrated downloadable charts of the various stages of most shieldbug species for easy identification if you happen to spot a nymph and, now that I know where this Juniper shieldbug lives, I’ll have to go back and look for more, adults and nymphs.