Green shield bug
Green shield bug | |
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Spring adult in Oxfordshire | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Heteroptera |
Family: | Pentatomidae |
Genus: | Palomena |
Species: | P. prasina
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Binomial name | |
Palomena prasina (Linnaeus, 1761)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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The green shield bug (Palomena prasina) is a
Life cycle
In Europe, the bright green shield bugs appear in April or May, having hibernated as imagoes in humus during the winter. They live by eating the sap from within plants in apples, pears and hazelnuts.[4] They fatten for a month and then mate in June.
The imago's coloration changes over the summer months from green to greenish browns even bronze to ready for the autumn, after which the life cycle will end.
Mating is back-to-back. The female lays her eggs in hexagonal batches of 25 to 30, and a single female will lay three to four batches. After the eggs hatch, the green shield bug enter a larval stage (which is really their first nymphal stage) where they remain together in sibling communities. This is made possible by the excretion of an aggregation pheromone. In case of danger, another pheromone is released which causes dispersal. The larval stage is followed by four more nymphal stages as well as moulting between each one.
The green shield bug displays different colouration during each nymphal stage, light brown, black or green-black, and in the final stage, the imago, is bright green with short wings. Usually the imago stage is reached in September, with hibernation occurring in November.[5]
Gallery
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Egg mass
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4th instar nymph
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5th instar nymph
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Final-stage nymph
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Green shield bug. Microscope Lumam P-8
References
- ^ "Palomena prasina". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4822-5421-1.
- ^ "Green shield bugs / RHS Gardening". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- S2CID 247567135.
- ^ "Green Shield Bug | Also Known As Green Stink Bug". The RSPB. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
External links
- Southwood, T. R. E. and Leston, D. (1959) Land and Water Bugs of the British Isles Frederick Warne & Co.
- Media related to Palomena prasina at Wikimedia Commons
- Green Shieldbug species account at British Bugs
- ARKive page about the green shield bug