The birch shieldbug (''Elasmostethus interstinctus'') is

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

shield bug The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order. As Hemiptera, they share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The roughly 7000 species under Pentatomoidea are divided into 21 families ...

in the

Acanthosomatidae Acanthosomatidae is a family of Hemiptera, commonly named "shield bugs," for which Kumar in his 1979 world revision recognized 47 genera; now this number is 55 genera, with about 200 species, and is one of the least diversified families within Pe ...

family. Shield bugs are often called "stink bugs" because they excrete a foul smelling liquid that is used to deter predators.

Distribution

This rather common species has an holarctic range. It is widely distributed across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, Northern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

(excluding China) and in North America.

Habitat

These shield bugs mainly inhabit sunny areas with mixed birch woodlands, deciduous trees and shrubs.Insectoid
/ref>

Description

''Elasmostethus interstinctus'' can reach a length of . These shield bugs have a relatively flat body with the entire upper surface covered with mostly black punctures. The dorsal side is a bright yellow-green, with various red markings. In particular,

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron ( lateral) o ...

is yellow-green, scutellum is green with a red center, clavus and corium are intensely red and the apex of the elytra are also bright red. The ventral side and the abdominal margins are yellow. Legs are yellow-green.Fauna y flora
/ref> This species of shield bug can be confused with the Hawthorn Shield Bug ('' Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale''), which is larger and more elongate and has a smaller lateral extensions of the pronotum.

Biology

The species overwinters in an adult stage in leaf litter, after which they emerge in the spring and start to mate. From early June to the middle August eggs are laid on the upper side of leaves of and on the catkins of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, where the nymphs feed in aggregation. Their

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e feed usually on

, but could also be found on

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

and

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999 ...

. They have also been found feeding on various other host plants, mainly on

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

, ''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ' ...

'', ''

Ilex ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

'', ''

Vaccinium ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...

'', ''

Alnus Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few spec ...

'', '' Fagus'' and ''

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

'' species. The new generation is complete by August.

Bibliography

*Henry, Thomas J., and Richard C. Froeschner, eds. (1988), Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United States *Thomas, Donald B. (1991) The Acanthosomatidae (Heteroptera) of North America, The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, vol. 67, no. 3 *Ekkehard Wachmann: Wanzen beobachten - kennenlernen. J. Neumann - Neudamm, Melsungen 1989, .

Gallery

File:Elasmostethus interstinctus (14072043110).jpg, Mating File:Elasmostethus interstinctus nimf 3 10-7-2014.JPG, 1st instar nymph File: Acanthosomatidae - Elasmostethus interstinctus (nymph).JPG, 4th instar File:Elasmostethus interstinctus (Birch shieldbug) - final instar nymph - Flickr - S. Rae (1).jpg, Last instar File: Elasmostethus interstinctus2.jpg, Mature

References

External links

Nature Spot
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1009818 Acanthosomatidae Hemiptera of Europe Bugs described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus