''Graphosoma semipunctatum'' is a species of

true bug Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to around ...

living exclusively in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

region. The form living on the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

has sometimes been given the name ''G. creticum''. It is very close to ''

Graphosoma italicum ''Graphosoma italicum'' is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is also known as the Striped bug (or Italian striped bug) and Minstrel bug. Description ''G. italicum'' can reach a length of . The body is almost round, with a la ...

''. It can be distinguished from ''G. italicum'' by black dots along the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ea ...

instead of lines, and the mostly orange legs. They are found abundantly on plants in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

. Its red color serves to warn its predators that it is not palatable.M. Chinery, Insectes de France et d'Europe méridionale, Flammarion, 2005

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2709248 Podopinae Insects described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius