''Codophila varia'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of ''shield bug'' belonging to the subfamily

Pentatominae Pentatominae is a subfamily of Pentatomidae, a family of shield bugs. This subfamily is the largest one within the Pentatomidae, having 4937 species classified in 938 genera. Species in this subfamily are phytophages and several of them are consid ...

in the family Pentatomidae.

Distribution

This species is present around most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Spain, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Hungary and Italy).

Description

The adults reach a body length of . It is a rather variable species in size and colour. Coloration of body may be pale yellow, greyish or also blood-red. These bugs have three bright longitudinal stripes on the head. Scutellum is brightly colored with a striking black drawing. The connexivum is bright with black spots. The first three segments of the antennae are usually red, the two outer ones are black. This species is very similar to ''

Carpocoris pudicus ''Carpocoris pudicus'' is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. Distribution This species is widespread in most of central and southern Europe (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, No ...

''.

Biology

These bugs can mainly be encountered from June through August. They are polyphagous, but they mainly feed on

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

(especially on ''Echinops spinosus'') Biolib
/ref> and Apiaceae species.

References

External links

L'ecole buissoniere
Insects described in 1787 Hemiptera of Europe Pentatomini {{Pentatomidae-stub