Green shield bug

Green shield bug
Spring adult in Oxfordshire
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Heteroptera
Family:	Pentatomidae
Genus:	Palomena
Species:	P. prasina
Binomial name
Palomena prasina (Linnaeus, 1761)

The green shield beetle – Palomena prasina – is a European shield beetle species in the family Pentatomidae. The name might equally apply to several other species in the tribe Nezarini, or if referred-to as a "green stink beetle", it might more appropriately belong to the larger North American beetle, Acrosternum hilare. The adult green shield beetle ranges in the colour of their backs from bright green to bronze, without any substantial markings. Green shield beetles are a very common shield beetle throughout Europe, including the British Isles, and are found in a large variety of habitats, including gardens. They have been found as far north as 63° N latitude.

Life cycle

In Europe, the bright green shield beetles appear in April or May, having hibernated as imagos during the winter. They fatten for a month and then mate in June. The imago's coloration changes over the summer months from green to greenish browns even bronze, after which the life cycle will end. Mating is back-to-back. The female lays her eggs in hexagonal batches of 25 to 30, and a single female will lay three to four batches. After the eggs hatch, the green shield beetle enter a larval stage (which is really their first nymphal stage) where, in general, they remain together in sibling communities. This is made possible by the excretion of an aggregation pheromone. In case of danger, another pheromone is released which causes dispersal. The larval stage is followed by four more nymphal stages as well as moulting between each one. The green shield beetle displays different colouration during each nymphal stage, light brown, black or green-black, and in the final stage, the imago, is bright green with short wings. Usually the imago stage is reached in September, with hibernation occurring in November.

Gallery

• 
  Egg mass
• 4th instar nymph
  4th instar nymph
• 5th instar nymph
  5th instar nymph
• 
  Final-stage nymph

References

• Southwood, T. R. E. and Leston, D. (1959) Land and Water Beetles of the British Isles Frederick Warne & Co.

External links

• Media related to Palomena prasina at Wikimedia Commons
• Green Shieldbeetle species account at British Beetles
• ARKive page about the green shield beetle