''Stenodema holsata'' is a species of bug from the family

Miridae The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. It is the ...

Description

''Stenodema holsata'' can reach a length of . These bugs have an elongate body and a coarsely pitted pronotum. The head shows a longitudinal small furrow. The first antennal segment has short hairs. The basic coloration before wintering is yellow-brown in females and dark brown in males, with brown longitudinal markings. In spring both sexes turn green, but the males remain darker.British Bugs
/ref>

Ecology

This species overwinter as an adult. In spring these bugs mate and larvae can be found from May toJuly. The new generation of adults appears from July onwards.

Adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

s feed on Purple Moor-grass (''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

'').

Distribution

This species is widespread in most of Europe, up to Siberia, Asia Minor, Central Asia and China. It can be found throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, except for South East England.Fauna europaea
/ref>

Bibliography

*Coulianos, C.-C. 1998. Annotated Catalogue of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of Norway. Fauna Norv. Ser.B 45 (1-2), side 11-39 *Gaun, Sven 1974. Blomsterteger (Miridae). Danmarks Fauna 81, 279 *Frieder Sauer: Sauers Naturführer Wanzen und Zikaden nach Farbfotos erkannt. Fauna, Keltern 1996, . *Ekkehard Wachmann, Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Wanzen. Band 2: Cimicomorpha: Microphysidae, Miridae. Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, .

References

Insects described in 1787 Hemiptera of Europe Stenodemini {{Miridae-stub