Species: Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
Family: Stink Bugs (PENTATOMIDAE)
Category: Insects (Other)
Location: Widespread
A. Insects (Other)
More extensive information on insects can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Stink Bugs (PENTATOMIDAE)
Most members of this family are plant feeders, and the cemetery is therefore very good habitat for them. The family name comes from the appearance of a five-sided body.
C. Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
This common bug has a bright green colour early in the year, but this darkens to nearly bronze as the year progresses. In adults, there is a dark brown area at the rear end, where the hind wings cross.
Adult Common Green Shield bugs overwinter and emerge at springtime. Their five-sided bodies are distinctive. Eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves, and these hatch into nymphs that don't yet have this five-sided shape. Instead, they have a rounded shape when they appear in June, and they moult four or five times, with each new development changing their shape from round to five-sided. As this progresses throughout the late summer and autumn, their wings appear and develop from tiny wingbuds to fully-formed wings.
Images
Common Green Shieldbug
The Common Green Shieldbug has a bright green colour early in the year, but this darkens to nearly bronze as the year progresses. This pair were taking advantage of the protective shelter of a Wild Carrot seed head, also known as Queen Anne's Lace.
Common Green Shieldbug
There is a dark brown area at the rear end of the Common Green Shieldbug, where the hind wings cross.
Common Green Shieldbug
A Common Green Shieldbug photographed from above on a Wild Carrot plant in late August. With its round shape, this individual is likely to be a final instar nymph.
Common Green Shieldbug
A Common Green Shieldbug photographed head-on on a Wild Carrot plant in late August. This individual is likely to be a final instar nymph.
