A warm winter is a final opportunity for insects to soak up the sun before the first frosts arrive and winter dormancy sets-in. So it is that the shield bugs are drawn to the sunniest spots. Americans refer to them unglamorously as stink bugs. This may seem unjust but in fact is quite accurate as some species do indeed produce a pungent aroma if handled roughly. However, they are all attractive insects and like us respond to a warm October day by basking in the sun. They are often mistaken for beetles but unlike most beetles, which have two wing cases, they have a single ‘shield’ protecting their bodies. This heraldic shield is a common feature to this species and is particularly attractive on nymphs.

The name shield bug is due to the shield-like shape of the insect as seen from above.
This shape is more rounded in the nymph than in the adult.

The species I notice the most at this time of the year is the Green Shield Bug, which is abundant at my favourite nature reserves as well as my garden. It likes to feast on unripe fruits, such as hawthorn berries and rose hips. Typical of Hemiptera or ‘true bugs’, green shield bugs have a long beak called a rostrum – comprising their fused mouth parts – with which they pierce plant tissues and suck up the liquids. You would think that this causes irreversible damage to the plants but they rarely congregate to such large numbers as to do any lasting damage.

On warm October days the Green Shield bugs like to bask in the sunshine.

Typical of Hemiptera or ‘true bugs’, green shield bugs have a long beak called a rostrum.
This can clearly be seen tucked underneath their body.

Shield bugs like many insects mate in a back to back fashion.

Most green shield bugs are green in October but then end in various shades of brown, the colour they assume as camouflage over winter. In spring they resume their leafy colours to match the sprouting greenery.

This Shield Bug has taken on brown colouring,
the colour they assume as camouflage over winter.

Green shield bugs are not the only members of their family to look out for. Hawthorn shield bugs are striking insects with a thorny projection on each of their shoulders. They’re green but with red stripes and stipples on their shields. So on a sunny day why not look out for this attractive little green bug.

Hawthorn Shield Bugs are striking insects
with a thorny projection on each of their shoulders.