The juniper shield bug (Cyphostethus tristriatus), (family: Acanthosomatidae), is a large (9–10.5 mm) green shield bug with distinctive pinkish-red markings on the corium.[1]
| Juniper shield bug | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Acanthosomatidae |
| Genus: | Cyphostethus |
| Species: | C. tristriatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Cyphostethus tristriatus (Fieber, 1860)
| |
The bug's traditional foodplant is juniper, with the larvae feeding on juniper berries.[1] It has also adapted to use Lawson cypress[1](Chamaecyparis spp.[2]) as a host. In the United Kingdom it was formerly scarce[2] 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.[1] Recent discoveries on stands of juniper in northern England and Scotland suggest that the range of the species may be extending.[1]
The juniper shield bug is active for most of the year apart from the coldest months.[1] It overwinters as an adult, emerging to mate in the early spring.[1] New adults may be found from late August onwards.[1]
See also
editReferences
editFurther reading
edit- Fent, Meral; Aktaç, Nihat (2007). "New Records of Pentatomoidea (Heteroptera) for the Fauna of Europe, Turkey, and the Turkish Thrace". Entomological News. 118 (4): 336–349. doi:10.3157/0013-872X(2007)118[336:NROPHF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0013-872X.
- Servadei, Antonio (1955). "Primi reperti sull'emitterofauna del Terminillo". Bolletino di Zoologia. 22 (2): 229–242. doi:10.1080/11250005509439203. ISSN 0373-4137.
- Staddon, Brian W. (1990). "Male sternal pheromone glands in Acanthosomatid shield bugs from Britain". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 16 (7): 2195–2201. doi:10.1007/BF01026930. ISSN 0098-0331. PMID 24264086. S2CID 27354045.
External links
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