Small World Discoveries

HEMIPTERA > HETEROPTERA > PENTATOMORPHA > PENTATOMOIDEA > Pentatomidae

Although Pentatomidae is the largest family of shieldbugs in Britain with 27 species, there are only about 10 that can be regarded as common and, even then, it will depend on where you live. Apart from the eight species that are now featured here, I've only identified a further three that I stand a realistic chance of seeing locally. There are nearly as many genera as species each distinguished by a combination of features generally associated with either the shape, form and/or colour of the pronotum and/or connexivum (the flattened abdominal margin).

The three species that I most frequently encounter are the Green Shieldbug [Palomena prasina], the Hairy Shieldbug [Dolycoris baccarum] and the Red-legged or Forest Shieldbug [Penatoma rufipes], all of which have their own separate 'species accounts' accessed from the Hemiptera home page thumbnail images. The remaining five species are covered on this 'family accounts' page.

The relatively large are distinctive Bishop's Mitre Shieldbug [Aelia acuminata] is easily recognisable by its general shape and pointed head. It's a rather attractive light brown species with pale longitudinal stripes. Aelia acuminata is a reasonably common and widespread shieldbug across central and southern England, where it favours tall and rank grassland habitats. There is one generation a year with the adults mating and laying eggs during the spring and early summer. The larvae feed on the seeds of various grasses and become fully developed from August onward.

The Woundwort Shieldbug [Eysarcoris venustissimus], previously Eysarcoris fabricii, and sometimes Stagonomus venustissimus just to confuse matters, is a small, 5-7mm, greyish-bronze species with a metallic copper head and similarly coloured scutellum, and black and white marked connexivum. It's a common and widespread species across much of England, as far north as Yorkshire, but far scarcer in Wales and the west. New adults may be found from late summer, generally occurring in areas where there's Hedge Woundwort, which the nymphs feed on.

The Gorse Shieldbug [Piezodorus lituratus] has two colour forms as the adults that emerge and mate in the spring are predominantly green, whereas the new generation that appears later in the year have purple-red markings across the back of the pronotum and forewings. They frequently become darker towards the end of the season before overwintering. Although primarily associated with Gorse, larvae also feed on Broom.

Whilst Piezodorus lituratus is distributed across much of the country, the Brassica or Crucifer Shieldbug [Eurydema oleracea] is mainly confined to central England and the wider south east area, with few records in the west. This nicely marked species has a dark metallic green/blue-black ground colour with either red, yellow or cream spots that change to orange over the winter hibernation period. The larvae can be found from May to July on a range of host plants in the Brassicaceae cabbage and mustard family. The species is sometimes called the Cabbage Bug.

The Spiked Shieldbug [Picromerus bidens] is predominantly brown with red legs and, as such, could easily be confused with the Red-legged Shieldbug [Pentatoma rufipes] - refer separate 'species account' - except that it has distinctive sharp projections on the front corners of the pronotum rather than the slightly hooked shape found in Pentatoma rufipes. This species overwinters as young nymphs, which feed on various trees, and continue to suck sap even when fully developed, although the new adults that can be found from July through to September or October are predominantly predators of various insect larvae.