Saving the small things that run the planetIn contrast to most Shieldbugs which are camouflaged green and brown, the Pied shieldbug has an eye-catching livery. It is often mistaken for a black and white ladybird, especially the young nymphs which have black spots, but unlike these beetles it has overlapping wings and piercing mouthparts.
Latin name: Tritomegas bicolor
Notable feature: Rounded, black and white body with brown wing membranes.
Where in the UK: Widespread in Southern England and parts of Wales in hedgerows, woodland edges and some gardens. Absent from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Picky eater
The Pied shieldbug uses its mouthparts like a straw to tap plant sap and has very specific tastes, only supping from the seeds of Dead-nettles (Lamium) and Black horehound (Ballota nigra) plants. Where these host plants flourish, Pied shieldbugs are often very common.
Keeping Mum
Perhaps surprisingly for an insect, Pied shieldbugs are great mothers. The female digs a small hollow in loose soil to lay her egg cluster, then stands guard over them for three solid weeks, turning them gently with her snout like a mother hen. When the eggs hatch she leads her babies to the food plant. The young nymphs have orange-yellow abdomens fading to yellowish -white as they grow. They go through several moults before reaching adulthood when their wings are fully developed and they can fly to pastures new.
Arrival of the lookalike
The Pied shieldbug used to be an unmistakable species in Britain, until the arrival of Rambur’s Pied Shieldbug (Tritomegas sexmaculatus) in Kent in 2011. Rambur’s pied shieldbug has black wing membranes and longer white margins of the thorax.
Fun fact:
Leaving wilder areas where deadnettle is left to grow can attract Pied shieldbugs to your garden, as well as pollinating bees and beeflies which enjoy the flowers.
