Saturday 12 March 2016

My First Shieldbug of 2016 - perhaps


This is one of the first bugs I have seen in my garden this year. It was less than a centimetre long. The triangular marking makes me think it is something like a shieldbug or a stinkbug. It was small and narrow. I see that nymphs (in various instars) can often be more rounded in shape than adults. The size, however, might suggest a young insect, so I am rather confused. Do let me know if you can identify it.

On the 2016 insect front, we had a queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee quite a few weeks ago. Since then there have been one or two Ladybirds (no Harlequins here yet) and a couple of Bluebottle-type flies.

I am still waiting to see my first butterfly.

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Update: 21 March 2016
Thanks to the kind people on iSpot, it seems this is not a Shield Bug but a Mirid, possibly European Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus rugulipennis).

5 comments:

Amanda Peters said...

How wonderful to see a Shieldbug, not sure which one it is as there is quite a few, put it on ispot, they will let you know. All we need now is for you get a moth trap :)
Amanda xx

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

First bitey insect nibble of the year for me. On my arm.

L. D. said...

You are getting warmer than us. Flies were out early this year with a quick warming and that was weird.

Ragged Robin said...

Amanda's suggestion of i-spot is a good one - they are very helpful on there. No butterflies (or bees) here yet although have now seen 3 moth species!

Crafty Green Poet said...

definitely a shield bug, though not sure what species. I agree with Amanda about I-spot. I need to start using I-spot too.