| Picromerus bidens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Pentatomidae |
| Genus: | Picromerus |
| Species: | P. bidens |
| Binomial name | |
| Picromerus bidens | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Picromerus bidens, the spiny shieldbug or spiked shieldbug, is a carnivorous species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. [2]
This species has a wide distribution in the Palaearctic, from 64°N to North Africa and from the British Isles to China. It has also been introduced, probably more than once, to North America, where it has been recorded from more than 180 sites. [3]
These bugs prefer deciduous and mixed forests, heathland, gardens, chalk downland and damp flower-rich meadows. [4]
Picromerus bidens is a large (12 to 13.5 mm long) and distinctive predatory shieldbug. It shows a thick rostrum directed away from head. Body colour is quite variable, generally light to dark brown or bluish, with red-brown antennae and legs and two unmistakable thornlike brown projections on the sides of the pronotum (hence the species name bidens, meaning "with two teeth"). Front femurs are armed with a ventral spine distally. [4] [5] The early instar nymphs are commonly reddish, while the final instar nymphs are greyish black, with banded antennae and legs. [4]
Both adults and nymphs of the spiny shieldbugs are predatory, feeding on the larvae of other insects, especially on leaf bugs, beetles, aphids and caterpillars. The choice of the prey depend on the season and availability of food. However both adults and nymphs also suck sap from plants. The female lays eggs on tree trunks and leaves. In the spring the larvae hatch, growing to the adult bugs after five moultings. Nymphs become adults by July or August and adults can be found until November. This species usually overwinters as eggs and less frequently as nymphs. [4] [6] [7] [8]
Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species. As hemipterans, the pentatomids have piercing sucking mouthparts, and most are phytophagous, including several species which are severe pests on agricultural crops. However, some species, particularly in the subfamily Asopinae, are predatory and may be considered beneficial.
The forest bug or red-legged shieldbug is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae, commonly found in most of Europe. It inhabits forests, woodlands, orchards, and gardens.
The green shield bug is a Palearctic shield bug species in the family Pentatomidae. The name might equally apply to several other species in the tribe Nezarini, or if referred-to as a "green stink bug", it might more appropriately belong to the larger North American bug, Chinavia hilaris. The adult green shield bug ranges in the colour of their backs from bright green to bronze, without any substantial markings. Green shield bugs are a very common shield bug throughout Europe, including the British Isles, and are found in a large variety of habitats, including gardens. They have been found as far north as 63° N latitude.
Asopinae are a subfamily of stink bugs. They are predatory stink bugs that are useful as biological control agents against pests, even against other Pentatomid species, which are all herbivorous.
The leek moth or onion leaf miner is a species of moth of family Acrolepiidae and the genus Acrolepiopsis. The species is native to Europe and Siberia, but is also found in North America, where it is an invasive species. While it was initially recorded in Hawaii, this was actually a misidentification of Acrolepiopsis sapporensis.
Rhaphigaster nebulosa, common name mottled shieldbug, is a species of stink bug in the family Pentatomidae.
Troilus luridus, also known as the bronze shieldbug, is a species of shield bug found in Europe. It was first described by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. Shieldbugs are generally phytophagous and some, including Troilus luridus, are also carnivorous and will eat the larvae of beetles, lepidoptera and sawflies.
Pyrrhalta viburni is a species of leaf beetle native to Europe and Asia, commonly known as the viburnum leaf beetle. It was first detected in North America in 1947 in Ontario, Canada. However, specimens had been collected in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in 1924. In 1996 it was discovered in a park in New York, where native plantings of arrowwood were found to be heavily damaged by larval feeding. The UK-based Royal Horticultural Society stated that its members reported Pyrrhalta viburni as the "number one pest species" in 2010.
Nezara viridula, commonly known as the southern green stink bug (USA), southern green shield bug (UK) or green vegetable bug, is a plant-feeding stink bug. Believed to have originated in Ethiopia, it can now be found across the world. Because of its preference for certain species of legumes, such as beans and soybeans, it is an economically important pest on such crops.
Canthophorus dubius is a species of burrowing bug belonging to the family Cydnidae, subfamily Sehirinae.
Eurydema ventralis is a shield bug of the family Pentatomidae, subfamily Pentatominae. The species was first described by Friedrich August Rudolph Kolenati in 1846.
Stagonomus venustissimus, common name woundwort shieldbug, is a species of shieldbug belonging to the family Pentatomidae, subfamily Pentatominae.
Altica lythri is a species of flea beetle from the leaf beetle family, that is common in Asia, Europe, and North Africa, including Israel. The beetles size is 5 mm (0.20 in), and their colour is blue with black and green. They present an ovipositor during oviposition. The species is distributed in European countries such as Finland and Ukraine, to the Asian countries of Azerbaijan, Dagestan, and Turkey. The species hibernate in winter, and come aground during summer months, when they are hungry. They feed on leaves of willowherb, water primroses and sallows. The species could become victims of such predators as Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, and adults of Pentatomidae, especially Zicrona caerulea.
Gonocerus acuteangulatus is a herbivorous species of true bug in the family Coreidae. It is commonly known as the box bug in the UK as it once only occurred in Box Hill in Surrey where it fed on box trees.
Piezodorus lituratus, the gorse shield bug, is a species of Pentatomidae, a family of shield bugs.
Peribalus strictus, common name Vernal Shieldbug, is a species of shield bugs in the family Pentatomidae.
Euthyrhynchus floridanus, the Florida predatory stink bug, is a species of carnivorous shield bug in the family Pentatomidae, the only species in the genus Euthyrhynchus. It is native to the hottest parts of the southeastern United States and is considered beneficial because its diet includes many species of pest insects.
Dahlbominus fuscipennis, the sawfly parasitic wasp, is a species of chalcid wasp from the family Eulophidae which parasitizes the European pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer, among other hosts. It is the only species in the genus Dahlbominus.
Monteithiella humeralis, commonly known as the pittosporum shield bug is a species of herbivorous shield bug native to Australia and introduced in New Zealand. As its common name suggests, it is most commonly observed feeding on Pittosporum plants.
Sycanus indagator is a species of assassin bug found in India. It has been used a biological control agent in parts of the United States for its potential as a predator of lepidopteran caterpillars such as Spodoptera frugiperda although in some lab experiments, they preferred the larvae of Galleria mellonella. Their potential for use against Pseudoplusia includens caterpillars in soybean fields has also been tested in the past in the US. The eggs take about 10-17 days to hatch depending on the temperature and the adults took five nymphal moults with a total egg to adult duration of 80 to 100 days at tropical temperatures.