Bug ID help, please

[specimin]

Hi all.
I found this wandering around on the wheelie bin during the summer, i assume it's some kind of hemiptera, any thoughts anyone?

[Jason Green]

It looks like a damsel bug of some kind - stand by, I'll try and ID it further...

EDIT: Sorry, drawn a blank

Definately a hemipteran - you'll get a name soon

[tristanba]

This a 1st instar nymph of the Dock bug Coreus marginatus (a squash bug)

Cheers
Tristan

[Jason Green]

Really? Wow. I've seen them, this looks nothing like it!!! Very surprising. I thought the antennaes were quite broad... but the body wasn't wide or flat enough for the adult.

[Acutipuerilis]

Certainly a coreid early instar, but I'm not sure I'd be categorical about C. marginatus at this growth stage (what does Coriomeris denticulatus look like at this stage?)... but I agree it's most likely Dock Bug.

[specimin]

Cheers guys.

The closest i have found is Enoplops scapha but mine is not as spikey.

[tristanba]

Originally Posted by specimin

Cheers guys.

The closest i have found is Enoplops scapha but mine is not as spikey.

Indeed, Enoplops is also unlikely in a garden setting. As Joe says Coriomeris is a possibilility but I have never seen a picture of a nymph; Southwood & Leston state they are 'covered in little black tubercles from which stout bristles arise'.

I agree the body doesn't look very broad Jason, but it could just be the angle of the photo

[specimin]

Here's a couple more images, may be these will help.

[Pudding4brains]

Originally Posted by tristanba

Coriomeris is a possibilility but I have never seen a picture of a nymph;

Here's one albeit classified as "unconfirmed".

But what about the Box Bug Gonocerus acuteangulatus - with all the green on it I'd say that's a good bet too, or not???

Cheers, Arp

[Jason Green]

Hi Pudsy,

Yep, I'll go along with that

[tristanba]

Well done Arp - Box Bug it is! I keep forgetting this is now quite common in UK I don't think Coreus nymphs ever show a green abdomen actually.

I wonder what foodplant these are using in your garden?

[Jason Green]

I wonder

I thought the species was spreading for a sec, but then I read Kent - of course G. acuteangulatus always was South-east, albeit just Surrey. Of course now it's quite... 'common'? in London, Surrey and perhaps Kent...

[tristanba]

It's intriguing why this bug has recently switched to feeding on other plants besides Box and is spreading from its Surrey stronghold - maybe climatic factors? On the continent it is catholic and feeds on a range of plants. Hawthorn seems to be a common foodplant in the UK now but others have been reported; the only specimen I saw this year in north London was on a Bay tree, but I suspect it was just intending to hibernate there!

I reckon it is quite a common bug now in the south-east and maybe even further afield, but still a nice find especially in your garden

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by tristanba

...On the continent it is catholic and feeds on a range of plants.

Wow, a religious bug

Yes, I too suspect it's climatic... or maybe it just got bored eating the same old stuff

A nice find, I agree, and breeding to boot

[Pudding4brains]

This Dutch document (Aukema et al, 2005) mentions that (goofy xlat by me):

Gonocerus acuteangulatus is one of the species that probably has reestablished itself in the Netherlands and has expanded it's range notably. In our country (=NL) three periods of records for this species can be distinguished:

• Before 1878, with records from Gelderland en Central- en South-Netherlands (5 records)
• From 1947-1950 with records from Central-Limburg only (12 records)
• And 1997 onward, with records in an expanding range of provinces and even on the Dutch isles.

... <snip> ...
In addition to the usual berry-carrying host plants Sorbus, Hawthorn (Crataegus) and Rosa sp. (including Rosa canina), Prunus spinosa and Buckthorn Rhamnus frangula, these authors also mention the coniferous Thuja sp., Box (Buxus sempervirens) and the coniferous Taxus baccata as host plants.

Interestingly, here Box is mentioned as a notable 'new' host plant

I'm no good with plants at all, but I found an egg that developed into a Box Bug nymph on this leaf:


Cheers, Arp

[specimin]

Fantastic you guys,
I shall try and find what plant it is using later on in the year. I found this one on the garden waste bin, but we have several of the plant species mentioned in the garden and close by.

Specimin