Shieldbugs

Green Shieldbug: Palomena prasina

VC30 Status: Very common

Adult: All year

One of the most familiar of Britain's insects, found commonly in a wide range of habitats across Bedfordshire. Adults are uniformly green for most of the year, but go a dull brown colour when over-wintering.

The recent colonist Nezara viridula, the Southern Green Shieldbug, is yet to be recorded in Bedfordshire, but is likely to turn up in the coming years. Adults are very similar to Green Shieldbugs, but have three white dots across the front edge of scutellum.

Gorse Shieldbug: Piezodorus lituratus

VC30 Status: Locally common

Adult: All year

A fairly common species wherever Gorse is present in the county. The spring generation of adults is entirely yellow-ish green, whilst the generation that emerges in late Summer has purplish-red markings. Nymphs usually feed on Gorse, but have been found on laburnum and clovers.

Birch Shieldbug: Elasmostethus interstinctus

VC30 Status: Very common

Adult: All year

As the name suggests, this is a species commonly found in association with birches, although nymphs have also been found on Hazel and Alder. Superficially similar to the Hawthorn Shieldbug in appearance, but smaller and less elongate, and always showing some red/brown colouration on the scutellum.

Hawthorn Shieldbug: Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale

VC30 Status: Very common

Adult: All year

A large and common shieldbug, often found on and around Hawthorn, the berries of which are fed on by the nymphs. Found in a wide range of habitats, and often attracted to moth traps.

Distinguished from the superficially similar Birch Shieldbug by the larger size and more elongate shape, along with the all green scutellum

Parent Bug: Elasmucha grisea

VC30 Status: Very common

Adult: All year

A medium sized shieldbug which is notable for the parental care it provides to its offspring, with the female standing guard over the eggs and young nymphs to protect them from parasitoid wasps and flies.

Common across Bedfordshire on and around birches and Alder. Distinctive in appearance, although the degree of reddish colouration is highly variable.

Juniper Shieldbug: Cyphostethus tristriatus

VC30 Status: Common

Adult: All year

A large and distinctively patterned shieldbug found commonly in Bedfordshire on both Junipers and Lawson's Cypress.  Historically rather scarce, but increased dramatically since starting to use the latter host plant.

Woundwort Shieldbug: Eysarcoris venustissimus

VC30 Status: Very common

Adult: All year

A small and shiny shieldbug which is strongly associated with Woundworts, especially Hedge Woundwort, but also sometimes found on related plants such as Black Horehound. 

Common and widespread in Bedfordshire and likely to be found wherever the host plant is present.

Forest Bug: Pentatoma rufipes

VC30 Status: Very Common

Adult: All year

A very common species in all kinds of habitats where trees are present. Nymphs feed mainly on Oak, but are also found a range of other deciduous trees. Distinctive in appearance being largely brown in colouration with a yellow tip to the scutellum. Could be confused with the scarcer Spiked Shieldbug, but has hooked projections at the each of the thorax compared to the obvious spikes of the former.

Spiked Shieldbug: Picromerus bidens

VC30 Status: Local

Adult: All year

Superficially similar in appearance to the far commoner Forest Bug, but readily distinguished by the thorn like projections at the side of the thorax. A voracious predator of soft bodied insects such as caterpillars and beetle larvae which is locally common on heathland areas in Bedfordshire.

Bronze Shieldbug: Troilus luridus

VC30 Status: Widespread but infrequent

Adult: All year

 A rather plain looking shieldbug with distinctive yellow bands across the penultimate segment of the antennae. Nymphs are better described by the common name, being shining bronze on the thorax.

Predominantly a woodland species, found across Bedfordshire, but never in large numbers.

Mottled Shieldbug: Rhaphigaster nebulosa

VC30 Status: Very rare

Adult: All year

A large and distinctive shieldbug, first recorded in Bedfordshire in 2019, with two subsequent records thus far. The mottled markings and pale banding of the antennae are distinctive, although the latter feature is shared with the Brown Marmorated Shieldbug, a species likely to occur in Bedfordshire in the near future.

Heather Shieldbug: Rhacognathus punctatus

VC30 Status: Scarce

Adult: All year

A large shieldbug with distinctively banded legs, usually found on or around heather, where it preys on the larvae of Heather Leaf Beetles.

Very scarce in Bedfordshire, with records only from a few heathland sites.

Hairy Shieldbug: Dolycoris baccarum

VC30 Status: Very Common

Adult: All year

A very common species in all kinds of habitats in Bedfordshire. Readily recognised by the purplish-brown and green colouration. As the name suggests this is a hairy species, which is particularly obvious in the nymphs.

Turtle Shieldbug: Podops inuncta

VC30 Status: Scarce

Adult: All year

An all brown shieldbug with very distinctive projections either side of the head. Fairly widespread in grassy areas in Bedfordshire, but infrequently recorded as adults generally stay close to the ground 

Tortoise Shieldbug: Eurygaster testudinaria

VC30 Status: Locally Common

Adult: All year

A distinctively shaped shieldbug which is widespread in grassy areas. Variable in colouration, ranging from plain brown to purplish-red. Could only be confused with the scarcer Eurygaster maura, which has not yet been recorded in Bedfordshire.

Bishop's Mitre: Aelia acuminata

VC30 Status: Very Common

Adult: All year

A distinctively shaped shieldbug which is very common in all kinds of grassy habitats across Bedfordshire. Adults are well camouflaged on the seed heads of grasses, but are readily revealed by sweep netting.

Small Grass Shieldbug: Neottiglossa pusilla

VC30 Status: Scarce

Adult: All year

A small brown species of dry grasslands, roughly half the size of the vaguely similar Bishop's Mitre, alongside which it sometimes occurs.

A rare species in Bedfordshire, with few recent records.

Brassica Shieldbug: Eurydema oleracea

VC30 Status: Common

Adult: All year

A small but distinctive shieldbug, with a metallic black body overlaid by red or white markings. Most often seen in the late Spring when the adults can be easily found on and around plants in the Brassicaceae, such as Garlic-Mustard and Horse-Radish.

Pied Shieldbug: Tritomegas bicolor

VC30 Status: Common

Adult: All year

A small black and white shieldbug usually found on or around White Dead-nettle or Black Horehound, the larval foodplants. Could only be confused with the recent UK colonist Rambur's Pied Shieldbug, which is yet to be recorded in Bedfordshire. Adults may be seen all year, but are most common in the late Spring.

Bordered Shieldbug: Legnotus limbosus

VC30 Status: Locally Common

Adult: All year

A small black shieldbug, with a pale border around the edge of the abdomen. Usually found in association with bedstraws, often on drier soils. Fairly widespread in Bedfordshire, although infrequently recorded due to its unobstrusive nature.

Forget-me-not Shieldbug: Sehirus luctuosus

VC30 Status: Locally Common

Adult: All year

An unobtrusive all black shieldbug, which spends most of its time close to the ground, making it somewhat difficult to find. Most likely to be found feeding on the seeds of forget-me-not species. Recorded widely but relatively infrequently in Bedfordshire, but probably a common species across the county.

Blue Shieldbug: Zicrona caerulea

VC30 Status: Widespread but infrequent

Adult: All year

A small and very distinctive shieldbug, found widely across Bedfordshire, but never in large numbers.

Adults are an unmistakeable shining blue all over, and nymphs are equally distinctive, with a bright red abdomen. 

Favours low vegetation in a range of habitats. A predatory species, with a preference for flea beetles in the genus Altica.

Scarab Shieldbug: Thyreocoris scarabaeoides

VC30 Status: Scarce

Adult: All year

A small metallic dark shieldbug with a very large scutellum that covers most of the abdomen.

Very scarce in Bedfordshire, recorded from just a handful of sites where its favoured conditions of violets growing on dry sandy areas occur.

Lesser-streaked Shieldbug: Odontoscelis lineola

VC30 Status: Rare

Adult: All year

A small shieldbug with distinctive bands of silvery hair along the edge of the thorax. Occurs in dry heathland habitats where Common Storksbill occurs.

Historically very rare in Bedfordshire, but recently present in good numbers at and around The Lodge RSPB.

Sandrunner: Sciocoris cursitans

VC30 Status: Very rare

Adult: All year

A recently added species to the Bedfordshire list, with a single individual recorded at The Lodge RSPB in June 2023. This is a strongly ground dwelling species, found in dry, sparsely vegetated areas in association with Mouse-ear Hawkweed.

Two other very similar looking Sciocoris species have been recorded in the UK, and could one day turn up in Bedfordshire. Sciocoris cursitans is best distinguished by the dark U-shaped marking on the underside (see second image).