''Bryocoris pteridis'' is a

true bug Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to a ...

in the family

Miridae The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the Synonym (taxonomy), taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and g ...

. The species is found in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the West and including the northern edge of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and the East across the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

.In

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, it is widespread and occurs both in the central uplands and the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

up to 1500 metres above sea level. Adults are 2.0 4.0 mm up to in length. They are both fully winged (macropterous) and partially winged (brachypterous).Brachypterous individuals are more common, macropterous forms are mostly males. The head is at least partially dark brown or black and the first segment of the antenna is longer than the width of the head. The habitat is shaded, moist deciduous forest, especially forests, where the host plants of the species grow. They feed on ferns (Polypodiaceae) mainly ''

Dryopteris :''The moth genus ''Dryopteris'' is now considered a junior synonym of ''Oreta. ''Dryopteris'' , commonly called the wood ferns, male ferns (referring in particular to ''Dryopteris filix-mas''), or buckler ferns, is a fern genus in the family Dry ...

'', bracken , (''

Pteridium Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small plants that prod ...

'') and '' Anthyrium''. They suck at fern fronds, carrying sporangia. Overwintering is as an egg. The adult animals occur from June. They mate in July and live until late August/September. Occasionally females can be found in October still. The females lay their eggs individually at the top of the nerves or on the stems of host plants. Occasionally, mature nymphs are found in the second half of September, so that at least some have a second generation per year.Ekkehard Wachmann, Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: ''Wanzen. Band 2: Cimicomorpha: Microphysidae (Flechtenwanzen), Miridae (Weichwanzen)'' (= Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meeresteile nach ihren Merkmalen und nach ihrer Lebensweise. 75. Teil). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, , S. 22.

References

Insects described in 1807 Miridae Hemiptera of Europe Taxa named by Carl Fredrik Fallén {{Miridae-stub