Birch Catkin Bug

Adult Birch Catkin Bugs overwinter and emerge to breed in early spring. Nymphs appear between March and September.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Kleidocerys resedae
Family: 
Seed bugs
Family Latin name: 
LYGAEIDAE
Category: 
Insects other

Species description

Species description

Birch Catkin Bugs are found in the Northern Hemisphere. Adults of this species are smaller than many of the other species of bugs found in the Cemetery, being only 4 to 5 millimetres in length. They are rust-coloured, and adults have forewings that are largely transparent. They live on or around Silver Birch trees. Adults overwinter and emerge to breed in early spring. Nymphs appear between March and September, there being several generations in a year.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)

Details

Species family information

Seed bugs (or Milkweed bugs or Ground bugs) are small bugs that feed on seeds, sap or seed pods. Some are carnivores that feed on insects. Members of this family of bugs have an oval body shape and four-segmented antennae. They differ from Plant bugs as they have simple eyes. They differ from quash bugs by the number of veins in the tissue of their front wings.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!