This little insect, nearly 1 cm in length, was walking about on the woodbine (if that is what this kind of unruly honeysuckle is called) on Friday. I suspected it was a Shieldbug of some variety since the Dockbugs in the garden tend to be brown. The green on the scutellum was a very vivid shade and I thought the gold rim (which I believe is the connexivum) was rather unusual.
I popped the photo on iSpot and it has been identified as a Gorse Shieldbug. My immediate reaction was 'but our garden doesn't have any gorse'. However, we have sandy soil and live in the vicinity of heathland; and gorse, it seems, is not the only host plant. I wonder what other insects I will see in the days ahead: I guess I may be in the garden rather a lot (though today was bitter with strong winds, hail and snow showers) as I cannot go beyond our boundary at present in my self-isolating regime.
Nice photo of the Gorse Shieldbug. Like Common Green Shieldbug they tend to be duller in colour as they emerge from their winter dormancy. They will feed on other related legumes other than Gorse, including Brooms, even Laburnum. Enjoy the garden though tend chilly again.
ReplyDelete