''Dolycoris baccarum'', the sloe bug or hairy shieldbug, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

shield bug Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert ...

in the family

Pentatomidae Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert G ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is widespread in most of Europe and Central Asia. These shield bugs mainly inhabit hedgerows and woodland edges, fields, forests, parks and gardens.

Description

''Dolycoris baccarum'' can reach a length of about .British Bugs
/ref> The basic color of pronotum and elytra is quite variable, but usually it is reddish purple, while scutellum is ocher. During the winter the basic color is dull brown. The whole body is quite hairy. The antennae are made by 4-5 black and white sections and the margins of the abdomen (connexivum) are alternately mottled with whitish and black. The male and female are very similar. A related species encountered in Europe is '' Dolycoris numidicus''.

Biology

It is

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

in the northern part of the range and bivoltine in the warmer southern areas. Adults of these shield bugs can be found all year around, as they overwinter. They emerge in the following spring, when they mate and females lay eggs. By the end of summer the new generation of adults appear. Nymphs feed on many plants, especially

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

and

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

species, ''

Linaria vulgaris ''Linaria vulgaris'', the common toadflax,Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. yellow toadflax or butter-and-eggs, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, native to Europe, Siberia ...

'' and ''

Lamium album ''Lamium album'', commonly called white dead-nettle, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native throughout Europe and Asia, growing in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils. Desc ...

''. Adults can be found frequently on shrubs feeding on berries, especially Honeysuckle and Raspberries.Garden Safari
/ref> Despite the common name ''sloe bug'', neither the larvae nor the adults feed on Sloe (''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in B ...

'').

Gallery

File:Dolycoris.baccarum.1831.jpg, Mating File:Pentatomidae - Dolycoris baccarum.JPG, Mid nymph File:Pentatomidae - Dolycoris baccarum (Late nymph).JPG, Late nymph File:Troilus luridus.jpg, Adult. Red specimen File:Dolycoris baccarum wings.jpg, Mounted specimen showing opened wings File:Dolycoris baccarum.ogv, Clip of ''Dolycoris baccarum'' in copula

References

External links

Nature Spot

{{Taxonbar, from=Q814105 Pentatomidae Bugs described in 1758 Articles containing video clips Hemiptera of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus sv:Bärfis