Small World Discoveries

HEMIPTERA > HETEROPTERA > PENTATOMORPHA > COREOIDEA > Coreidae

Americans refer to the members of this family as Squashbugs as a number of species are common pests on squash plants, but as that particular association doesn't really have the same meaning in Britain, we've adopted the name of Leatherbugs based on their general appearance, rather than feeding habits.

Leatherbugs resemble Shieldbugs and in some publications they're almost treated as an extension of the Pentatomidae family. They're typically more elongated and can be distinguished by having four rather than five-segmented antennae. The tarsi are three-segmented.

There are 11 species on the British List of which only four are common. According to the distribution maps, the most widespread is the Western Conifer Seed Bug [Leptoglossus occidentalis], which is a recent colonist found in coniferous woodland across central and southern counties, and in some more northerly areas. Notwithstanding the Dock Bug [Coreus marginatus], which I've dealt with separately, and the Denticulate Leatherbug [Coriomeris denticulatus] all the remaining species have local southern distribution.

The Box Bug [Gonocerus acuteangulatus] used to be a very rare species that only occurred on Box trees around the Box Hill area of Surrey, but has extended its range over recent years and is now occasionally found as far north as Yorkshire and as far west as Devon. The British Bugs website confirms that its success in spreading its range is largely due to a shift away from Box onto other foodplants. It is now more frequently found on Hawthorn or Blackthorn. At the time of writing, the NBN Atlas only has a few records from Dorset, so I'm pleased that we actually had one in the garden. They are a relatively large, 11-14mm, reddish-brown species that could be mistaken for a Dock Bug, but distinguished by their narrower form and more pointed sides of the pronotum. Usual habitats are scrub and hedgerows, woodland edge, and parks and gardens with scattered trees. Although they can be found from April through to October or November, the main season is July to September.

Apart from those four 'common' species, the others are nationally scarce or rare apart from the Rhombic Leatherbug [Syromastus rhombeus], which has local distribution across East Anglia and the South East and, to a much lesser extent, occasionally encountered further west. There have been a handful of sightings from Dorset over the past few years including one from Hartland Moor, which is a site of interest for various uncommon insects, so I shall add this one to my target list.