| Hawthorn shield bug | |
|---|---|
| Imago | |
| Nymph | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Family: | Acanthosomatidae |
| Genus: | Acanthosoma |
| Species: | A. haemorrhoidale |
| Binomial name | |
| Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale (Linnaeus, 1758) |
|
The hawthorn shield bug, Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale, is a common European shield bug.[1] Its chief food is haws, the fruit of the hawthorn tree, but adults can overwinter on a diet of leaves, and individuals can be found on many potential food plants, including pedunculate oak, sessile oak and whitebeam.[2] They may grow up to 17 mm long, and are camouflaged in shades of green and brown. Like many so-called "stink bugs", they may release unpleasant odours when disturbed.[3]
The scutellum body is usually trapezoidal in shape, giving the family name 'shield bug'. [4] The tarsi are 2- segmented. As a heteropteran the species it feeds through a pierced maxillary beak extentsion to suction liquidised plant tissue. As a stress response, an orange glandular secretion is secreted from the thorax.[5]
The hawthorn shield bug is found across Europe, from Portugal to Russia, and is common in the southern part of Great Britain. Its distribution appears to be spreading north, being only reported as far north as Birmingham in 1892, but having now extended its range to Northern England and even the Scottish Highlands.[6]
In Britain and North Western Europe the species is generally active between the months of April and October, although specimens can reappear from hibernation during periods of unseasonable warm weather in the winter.[7]
The hawthorn shield bug is a distinctive species, but could be confused with the birch shield bug, Elasmostethus interstinctus.[8]