HEMIPTERA > HETEROPTERA > PENTATOMORPHA > PENTATOMOIDEA > Pentatomidae

The Hairy Shieldbug [Dolycoris baccarum] also known as the Sloe Bug, is a common and distinctive species that can be found in a variety of habitats across southern and central counties, but with more localised and mainly coastal distribution further north.

They are a medium-sized (10-13mm) species with a typically reddish-purple pronotum and forewings, and darkish ochre scutellum that has a pale tip in fully developed adults. The overall colour becomes more of a uniform dull brown during the winter. The margins of the abdomen (connexivum) and the antennae are black and white banded. The body is quite hairy, more noticeable around the margins of the head, pronotum and legs, and obviously that's the feature that gives the species its common name. Nymphs are less brightly marked, but just as hairy.

Dolycoris baccarum overwinters as an adult, emerging in the spring to mate. The nymphs develop over the following months feeding on many different types of plant, but especially those of the rose and daisy families. By the end of the summer there will be a new generation of adults to repeat the process. The adults can frequently be found on shrubs feeding on berries.

This is one of our commonest shieldbugs and also one of the most active, frequently taking flight on hot summer days. They are most numerous in open areas with lush vegetation and rosaceous shrubs such as Blackthorn, and from my experience may also be encountered on calcareous grasslands, along woodland rides and in parks and gardens.

The Pentatomidae 'family account' is linked to the Bishop's Mitre, Woundwort, Gorse, Brassica and Spiked Shieldbug thumbnail images on the Hemiptera home page.