Tag Archives: Piezodorus lituratus

Little Gorse shieldbugs

06 Thursday Jul 2023

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I’ve blogged about Gorse shieldbugs (Piezodorus lituratus) before, in particular the adult bugs and their amazing little barrel-shaped eggs (in A bug and its eggs, April 2022) but I’ve only once before seen one of the intermediate stages of the nymphs between egg and adult (a second instar – see A shieldbug selection, September 2021). Until last week, that is. And these Gorse shieldbugs, of various instars, were actually grazing on Broom rather than Gorse. (The British Bugs website has both photographs and a chart of the diversely coloured nymphs, if you’re interested in more information.)

230706 gorse shieldbug instars

A bug and its eggs

19 Tuesday Apr 2022

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The sunshine yellow flowers of gorse always draw my eye and I can seldom resist a quick sniff of their delicious scent (does gorse smell of coconuts or do coconuts smell like gorse?). This time, as I drew close to the flowers, I noticed a Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) enjoying the Spring sunshine.

220419 gorse shieldbug

And then, of course, I had to have a quick search for more. I didn’t spot any further adult bugs but I did find two lots of their distinctive black-and-white barrel-shaped eggs. Apparently, the eggs hatch within a week so I’ll have to revisit this plant soon to see if I can find the nymphs.

220419 gorse shieldbug eggs

Shieldbugs on gorse

22 Thursday Apr 2021

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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)

96/365 Gorse weevils and shieldbugs

06 Saturday Apr 2019

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

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I got some strange looks today when I was out walking – nothing unusual about that really. This time it was because I had my nose in a gorse bush looking for its special critters – and I found them. First, I was delighted to spot two tiny Gorse weevils (Exapion ulicis). I’ve only found them once before and these two led me a merry dance, in and around the gorse leaves, not wanting to have their photo taken. One disappeared but I managed to grab a couple of pics of the other.

190406 gorse weevil

The other critters were much easier, at least ten of them, probably many more, hiding in plain sight – that’s how well camouflaged they are. These Gorse shieldbugs (Piezodorus lituratus) were also camera shy and the gorse thorns made a few holes in my hands as I tried to pull the gorse this way and that to get some photos. But it was worth every speck of blood!

Good things come in small packages

11 Thursday May 2017

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They say ‘Good things come in small packages’ and you couldn’t get much smaller than these tiny packages, the eggs of the Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) sitting on a gorse flower in Lavernock Reserve. I’ll be heading back soon to try to find the hatchlings.

170511 Gorse shieldbug eggs