The juniper shield bug (''Cyphostethus tristriatus''), (family:

Acanthosomatidae Acanthosomatidae is a family of Hemiptera, commonly named "shield bugs," for which Kumar in his 1979 world revision recognized 47 genera; now this number is 55 genera, with about 200 species, and is one of the least diversified families within P ...

), is a large (9–10.5 mm) green

shield bug The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order. As Hemiptera, they share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The roughly 7000 species under Pentatomoidea are divided into 21 families (1 ...

with distinctive pinkish-red markings on the corium. The bug's traditional foodplant is

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

, with the larvae feeding on juniper berries. It has also adapted to use

Lawson cypress ''Chamaecyparis lawsoniana'', known as Port Orford cedar or Lawson cypress, is a species of conifer in the genus ''Chamaecyparis'', family Cupressaceae. It is native to Oregon and northwestern California, and grows from sea level up to in the v ...

(''

Chamaecyparis ''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related cypresses), is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia (Japan and Taiwan) and to the western and eastern margins of th ...

'' spp.) as a host. In the United Kingdom it was formerly scarce and restricted largely to southern juniper woodlands but in recent years it has become common across southern and central England as a result of the widespread garden planting of juniper and cypress. Recent discoveries on stands of juniper in northern England and Scotland suggest that the range of the species may be extending. The juniper shield bug is active for most of the year apart from the coldest months. It overwinters as an adult, emerging to mate in the early spring. New adults may be found from late August onwards.

References

External links

British Bugs - Life stages of a range of British shield bug species drawn by Ashley Wood
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1009962 Hemiptera of Europe Acanthosomatidae Insects described in 1860

See also

References

Further reading

External links