Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Hemiptera - Family: Corixidae
Also referred to as the Black and Red Squash Bug, this scentless plant bug is an uncommon find in much of Britain and Ireland.
With its softly hairy body and red-and-black (sometimes more orange-and-black) markings, this is a very striking and distinctive bug. Aduts of both genders are typically 9mm long.
Found throughout southern and central Britain and Ireland, Corizus hyoscyami occurs also throughout most of mainland Europe, but this species is most abundant in southern European countries including Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Once most commonly recorded in coastal regions of southern Britain, Cinnamon Bugs can now be seen also in urban gardens as well as hedgerows, woodland edges, scrub and wasteland well away from the coast.
Cinnamon Bugs feed on the sap of a wide variety of plants including umbellifers (Apiaceae) and daisies (Asteraceae). The adults can be seen sunning themselves or flying between plants in daytime at any time of year but particularly in summer and autumn. Overwintering as adults, Cinnamon Bugs produce a new brood in the autumn. The larvae are brownish green and hairy.
This page includes picture content kindly contributed by David Adamson.
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