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Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Friend or Foe?

Can anyone help me to identify this bug?



It's what I would call a "Shield Bug", but A) I'm pretty sure that is not its proper name, and B) I want to know if it is good to have such things in my garden or not.

It was crawling about (sluggishly, obviously feeling the cold) on the wall of my house, next to the Blueberry plants.



Will it eat the Blueberries? Will it lay eggs on them that will produce larvae that will eat the Blueberries, or will it just eat the aphids on the nearby rose bushes? Answers on a postcard (aka Comment) please...

The allegiance of this one is less in doubt. My No.1 enemy...the Fox.

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15 comments:

  1. takaeko16 March 2011 at 17:55

    A carnivorous shield bug eat aphids so it can be beneficial for your garden.
    Some of herbivorous ones are regarded as a foe especially for rice farmers and orchards farmers in Japan since they suck juice.
    Anyway, Don't touch a shield bug or it smell really bad!!
    I hate the bug.

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  2. David P. Offutt - The Gastronomic Gardener16 March 2011 at 18:15

    http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Acanthosomatidae/a_haemorrhoidale.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorn_shield_bug

    Doesn't look like anything to worry about in your garden

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  3. Mark Willis16 March 2011 at 18:32

    Thanks, Dave. What an unfortunate name for the thing - it sounds like a painful medical condition... :(

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  4. cathy@home16 March 2011 at 19:44

    great picture of the beast or should i say smelly beast that has haemrhoids

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  5. Egretta Wells blog16 March 2011 at 20:01

    Nice Picture. We call them "Stink bugs". It does have a bad odor if touched. Also, they like tomatoes I know and will eat them. I think they might like fruit as well. Definately a pest, even if he does eat the odd aphid.

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  6. Hazel16 March 2011 at 21:30

    You seem to have he bug question well answered. But will that fox eat your peas too! Tally Ho, Old Chap!

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  7. Dawn16 March 2011 at 22:10

    Hey Mark: for ID check out this website

    http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Acanthosomatidae/a_haemorrhoidale.html

    Both pest and predator, the adult stink bug and their larvae prey on other insect larvae, including armyworms, cabbage loopers, potato beetles and Mexican bean beetles. The good news is they are only a pest while a nymph for 6 to 8 weeks and then as an adult they become a predator for up to 8 weeks.

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  8. Enchanted Moments17 March 2011 at 00:09

    It is a type of stink bug....dont squash it, I had one on my back last week, and slung it off and squashed it in the process...ppooooowhhheee
    I had them on my tomatoes laying eggs, but apparently they are not a Bad bug so to speak, as I think they eat other little bugs...I have the brown ones and the bright green ones...
    Naughty fox....just as well you dont have chooks.

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  9. Anonymous17 March 2011 at 01:47

    My chickens won't eat these sticky things! I kill them...If they are the same bugs I have (they look the same anyway) the inject digestive juices into my veggies and then suck out the partially digested veggie. You definately see the spots on your veggies when they do this. They especially like my peppers.

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  10. Sue Garrett17 March 2011 at 10:19

    I once found one of these crawling on my neck and took a picture of it somewhere on my blog but can't find it at the moment - it did have a common name too but I decided it wouldn't eat any crops.

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  11. Marcia17 March 2011 at 13:07

    we have an infestation of them here. Stink bugs they are though ours are brown. They came as invaders from Asia. They came into the screen porch in droves and some have managed to get in the house. I still have one or two each evening when it has warmed up. I gently capture them in tissue and put them in a glass of sudsy water to drown. Apparently they will be worse this year than last and will do damage to crops. Check out this stink bug trap. http://stinkbugtrapsonline.com/product.html

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  12. nic @ nipitinthebud17 March 2011 at 18:50

    I have lots of shield beetles at the allotment in the summer, although mostly green all over and not bronzed like yours (which looks like a Hawthorn Shield Bug if this listing is correct http://www.uknature.co.uk/A.haemorrhoidale-info.html

    Anyway I mostly find them on the raspberries but have never noticed any adverse effect from them being there.

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  13. Mark Willis17 March 2011 at 20:45

    Thanks everyone for the info on Shield Bugs / Stink Bugs. Sounds like they are unpleasant, but not likely to be a major threat to my crops.

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  14. Linda19 March 2011 at 21:41

    Pesky fox!
    Glad your bug turned out not to be yet another pest.

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  15. Open Kitchen Concept21 March 2011 at 13:35

    Fox! Wow.. I've never seen one before except in the zoo...! heheh..

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