Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Hemiptera - Family: Lygaeidae
Also referred to as the Panda Soldier Bug, this seed bug is a rare find in Britain and not yet confirmed as breeding there.
The two wavy stripes on the pronotum and the bold white spot on the winng membrane make for easy identification and avoid confusion with the otherwise similar Cinnamon Bug Corizus hyoscami. Adults of both genders are typically 15mm long.
This visually attractive but smelly bug (when handled it emits a stinky substance as a defence mechanism) is common and widespread in southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The specimen shown here was found in the Algarve region of Portugal.
Milkweed Bugs are most often seen in warm, sunny places such as agricultural fields and meadows, gardens and scrubby wasteland.
These bugs feed on the seeds of a wide variety of plants including tomatoes, sunflowers, cotton and other valuable crops; they tend to favour plants of the family Apocynaceae, which includes various kinds of Milkweed. There are several broods per year, with larvae hatching from eggs and going through five larval instars (stages) before becoming adults. There is no pupal stage.
This page includes picture content kindly contributed by Rob and Jane Petley-Jones.
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