Shield bugs

You can tell we are now into Spring again with the reappearance of our very common brown shield bugs. Pentatomoidea is a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order. These bugs all share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. They are commonly referred to as shield bugs, chust bugs, and stink bugs.

This pair was caught getting friendly in our back garden today.

Shield bugs have glands in their thorax between the first and second pair of legs which produce a foul smelling liquid. This liquid is used defensively to deter potential predators and is sometimes released when the bugs are handled carelessly.

No stink was released during the taking of this photo!

Bigger bugs.

Over the last few days I have been back blipping, trying to catch up after the trip. You may wish to take a look back a day or so if you have time.