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Parent / Shield Bug
Elasmucha grisea
52.0978, 0.356069
Field Notes
Description:
Length 7-9 mm. A medium-sized red/brown shieldbug - this one has a different colouration
This species overwinters as an adult, emerging and mating in the spring. The smaller male dies soon after, but the female survives for some time, brooding the eggs and young larvae, which feed on Birch and Alder.
New adults may be found from August onwards.
Habitat:
Common and widespread across Britain and Ireland, this was spotted on a Blackberry bush in Horseheath, Cambridge UK. It then flew onto my hand
Notes:
"The colouring is indeed bizarre. It reminds me of the iridovirus that can affect woodlice and other arthropoods... but I've not come across the same thing affecting bugs. It may just be completely aberrant, but normally there's a reason for it..." Joseph Botting
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