Everyone loves shieldbugs – why else would we have given them such a heroic and heraldic name? These distinctive bugs are relatively large, stout and brightly coloured – and robust enough that they can be picked up with impunity. They walk across the hand with a friendly clockwork gait and take to the wing from the end of a finger with an assured model-aeroplane whirr. They are highly photogenic, and there are just enough of them (about 70 British species) to pique the interest of non-specialists.
‘Bug’ (also bugg or bugge) is an old word. Though it is often used nowadays to refer to almost any small, mean creepy-crawly, for the strict entomologist it means a member of the insect order Hemiptera. Characterised by long piercing and sucking mouthparts and an incomplete metamorphosis (see page 61), this large group includes about 100,000 species worldwide, with cicadas, spittlebugs, leaf-hoppers, aphids, scale insects, water boatmen, back-swimmers, bedbugs, capsids and shieldbugs among their number.
Traditionally, ‘shieldbug’ meant a member of the family Pentatomidae, named for their five antennal segments (most other bugs have four) – but this rather unfairly excludes many four-segmented species (family Coreidae) that are still very shield-shaped. Shieldbugs are, in fact, a slightly arbitrary grouping of several related bug families lumped together.
Denne historien er fra May 2021-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
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Denne historien er fra May 2021-utgaven av BBC Wildlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
