Young Parent Bug

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This Parent Bug nymph (final instar) dropped on me out of the birch trees. The nymphs go through several development phases before becoming adults, which overwinter to breed the following spring. Parent Bugs (Elasmucha grisea) live in Beech and Alder trees, and are so-called because in this species the females stick around to brood the eggs and young larvae.

Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

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This Red-legged Shieldbug, posing nicely at the top of a Rosemary bush, is a common late-summer insect. Adults appear from July to November in gardens and wooded areas. They over-winter as larvae in deciduous trees.

Hawthorn Shield Bug

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My first Shield Bug of the year flew in and landed on the window. Hawthorn Shieldbug, with its pointy shoulders, is a colourful and common bug in deciduous trees. They over-winter as adults and appear each Spring with a new generation appearing in August/September. I usually see a few each summer.

#427 Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)

Common Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca)

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The kids caught this monster in the swimming pool - a Common Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca, #898). About 1.5 cm long, this is a predator of aquatic insects and even sometimes tadpoles. It can even give anyone handling it a bit of a nip too. This one must have been flying around in search of a new pond. It’s a similar-looking bug, but a lot larger and more impressive than the water boatmen who occasionally wind up in my moth trap.

#639 Heterotoma planicornis

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This bug with its distinctive large/flat antenna segment lives in low vegetation such as nettles and eats plant matter, but also small insects like mites and aphids. Heterotoma planicornis hatches in May and lives for one season, over-wintering as an egg. It is quite common all across England and has also been introduced to North America and New Zealand.

Parent Bug

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Despite Parent Bugs being common in Birch trees, this is the first I’ve found in the garden. Smaller than the birch shield bug and less boldly marked, this bug usually has a dark mark on the scutellum (back), which is missing on this individual, nonetheless I believe it is this species. Parent bugs are so-called as the females care for the eggs and young nymphs into the early summer (the males having already died off).

The two-spotted ladybird is one that I don’t see very often either, despite it being a common species.

Tarnished Plant Bug

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This plant bug and the micro moth were attracted into the kitchen lights on Bonfire night (Nov 5th). The Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus rugulipennis, #710) is variable in colour and similar to other related mirid bugs, but differs a little due to the pattern on its back and the hairs thereon. These bugs become more abundant in the Autumn. The accompanying moth that was sharing the same light is also potentially interesting, so I wish I’d got a better photo. One potential species is Grey Birch Button (Acleris logiana), which is a species formerly only found in the Scottish Highlands that has been turning up in Southern England in recent years - it appears in September and overwinters as an adult. But I guess i’ll have to find another one to be sure.

Common Not-so-Green Shieldbug

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The bug on the left was found in the Elder tree the other day. It’s a Common Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina, #350) which has lost its usual vibrant green colour to be better camouflaged during the Autumn and Winter seasons. The one on the right was photographed in July. You hear a lot about mammals and birds, like Ptarmigan and Mountain Hares, that change colour in the winter - but here’s an example (albeit not so impressive as turning pure white) from your own backyard. As they hibernate as adults, remaining bright green in a brown-coloured world would not be optimal.

Light Trapped Bugs

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Here’s a couple of so-called “true” bugs, that I caught in the moth trap during September. While it’s mostly moths, I do catch other insects, and these shield bugs are always welcome. Obviously they, like the beetles and water boatmen I’ve caught previously, do also fly around under cover of dark more than you might think.

Lesser Waterboatman (Sigara lateralis, #646)

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Another first, this time my first Waterboatmen, with a dozen or more caught in the moth trap. Looking like something from Roswell, these bugs (not beetles) are strong fliers and often attracted to light at night. There are several similar species, but based on pattern and leg/foot colour, I believe this one is Sigara lateralis. I released them in my small pond - may they be happy there!

The moth is a rather faded Double Square Spot, the first of these I’ve caught. Apart from a coupe of Large Yellow Underwings and an unidentified brown Caddisfly there wasn’t much else in the trap.

Heterotoma planicornis (#639)

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I’m liking this funny looking small bug with its enlarged antennae and bright green legs, which was running to hide on the underside of the dogwood leaf as I tried to get a photo. It goes by the name Heterotoma planicornis, and lives on smaller insects and plant buds, often apparently on stinging nettles. It’s not rare, but it is small and a bit shy, and a new species for the garden..

Heterotoma planicornis (#639)

Heterotoma planicornis (#639)

Plagiognathus arbustorum, #628

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Several of these small green Mirid bugs turned up on newly emerging globe thistle flowers. They are common bugs all over UK, but these are the first of this species I found in the garden. This species prefers low vegetation such as nettles and thistles, and is identified by its black & green colour and, if you look closely enough, black stripes on the hind femur. The other insect is also a bug, but in this case a nymph of Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina), which I found in my mini wild-flower meadow.

New Spider; New Bug

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Doing a bit of gardening at the weekend, I disturbed a couple of new species. Harpactia homburgi is a ground-living, nocturnal spider that hunts insects such as woodlice. This one’s elongated body I think indicates it’s a male. The small mirid bug is a member of the genus Psallus, the first I’ve recorded. There are a few similar looking species. P. varians prefers oak trees, where it feeds on sap, but also eat smaller insects.

Oncopsis Leafhopper

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This small leaf-hopper dropped in through the window. It’s an Oncopsis species, either O. subangulata or O. flavicollis. Both are types of bug, small cousins of the cicadas you get in the Mediterranean and tropics; these two species both living off the sap in birch trees. The largest cicadas are 7 cm in length and some make enough noise that they can damage your hearing - luckily we have no such problem with this 0.5 cm UK version. Of the two species it might be, I lean towards O. subangulata due to its colouration, but as the species are very similar, very variable and often occur together it’s impossible for me to be certain.

Trio of Beetles & Bugs

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Once again checking the composting bin after some gardening throws up some colourful creatures.

Star of the show is a snazzy iridescent green Cereal Leaf Beetle, which is new one for the garden, not that it seems especially unusual. There’s actually two species which you can only really tell apart by dissecting it (and then knowing what to look for), Oulema melanopus and O. duftschmidi. Both are considered pests in arable farms as they damage the leaves of cereal crops and reduce yield.

The other two are familiar species, a colourful Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) and a not-so-pretty (or, if you are a gardener, desirable) Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus). One of my gardening jobs was to dig up a rosemary that had slowly died over the last months - perhaps the Vine Weevil’s larvae were something to do with this, as the plant had previously been quite healthy.

Stinky Raspberries

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The Birch Catkin Bugs (Kleidocerys resedae) have moved down in numbers from the surrounding birch trees to enjoy the last of the ripening raspberries. These small “stink bugs” release an unpleasant smelling secretion from their abdomens to make them less palatable to birds and other predators. Unfortunately this adds an unpleasant taste and smell to any raspberry that they come into contact with, so that is game over for my raspberries until next year.

Bugs are Back

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While there’s many less insects around than this time last year, a bit of sunshine helps. Birch Catkin Bugs are plentiful, but this Deraeocoris flavilinea flower bug is one I only found once last year. This flower bug is a relatively newly arrived non-native species that was first recorded in UK in 1996, but it seems finds our gardens to its liking and has spread to much of the country..

I added a couple of new species for the list in the last week or so. The first is a Broad Centurion (Chloromyia formosa, #508) soldier fly that was attracted to the yellow front door. The other a new ladybird, the 10-spot Ladybird (Adalia decempunctata, #512), which comes in regular black spots on red, but also various other colours including this dark brown & cream combination. There seem a lot of ladybird larvae around this year (as well as lots of aphids), so maybe it’s going to be a good ladybird year.