Thursday 1 December 2011

Forest Bug and Gorse Shield Bug

Forest Bug, Pentatoma rufipes.  Moth morning on Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 14 August 2011.
Forest Bug, Pentatoma rufipes.  Moth morning on Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 14 August 2011.
Above, another shield bug. I posted some photos of Forest Bug instars and an adult earlier. The woods around Hayes were full of these earlier in the year, mostly on oak trees but also on beech, but from August onwards I only saw this one, which came to the moth trap at Sevenoaks Nature Reserve.

Below, a Gorse Shield Bug. It has yellow legs and yellow stripes along its sides, and matches its food plants quite well. I only had this one glimpse of this species, and it quickly retreated into the prickly depths.  It's supposed to feed on Broom (Cytisus scoparius) as well as Gorse (Ulex europaeus); it would have been easier to chase on a Broom, as they aren't as prickly as this bush.

Gorse Shield Bug, Piezodorus lituratus.  Hayes Common, 18 May 2011.
Gorse Shield Bug, Piezodorus lituratus.  Hayes Common, 18 May 2011.

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