Shield Bug ID and Mating Behaviour

Lester · #1 (**permalink**) 21-09-2010, 05:35 PM

ID please if you could be so kind.

The larger of the two is eating on the job

I am guessing the larger is a female (?), which makes me wonder if the the male has to offer a love gift, perhaps to avoid being eaten.

Any comments on this please.

Gatekeeper · #2 (**permalink**) 21-09-2010, 05:47 PM

It is Picromerus bidens, a predatory shieldbug which feeds on the larvae of other insects.

Lester · #3 (**permalink**) 22-09-2010, 10:16 AM

Thanks Gatekeeper, I thought I recognised the species.

Do you know anything about their mating behaviour?

Gatekeeper · #4 (**permalink**) 22-09-2010, 11:35 AM

No, unfortunately I can't say whether it's recognised mating behaviour, or just a case of killing two birds with one stone.

Lester · #5 (**permalink**) 22-09-2010, 01:02 PM

Thanks

Klaas Reißmann · #6 (**permalink**) 22-09-2010, 06:19 PM

It is killing two birds with one stone. Bugs can be really fast running for a short distance while mating on one hand. On the other the larva in this pictures is one of a moth of the family psychidae. They are really slow and no problem to hunt.

Regards
Klaas