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Green shield bug description
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Hemiptera
Family Pentatomidae
Genus Palomena (1)
This common bug has a flattened, shield-shaped body, as the name suggests (3). It is bright
green in colour with delicate flecks of black that look like small puncture marks (2). In
November, the insects darken in colour and spend the winter hibernating with a dark-bronze
colouration (2). Although the sexes are similar in appearance, females tend to be larger than
males (2). Like all bugs (Hemiptera), the green shield bug has specialised sucking mouthparts,
which in this species are used to feed on plant sap (4). This species belongs to a sub-order
known as the ‘true bugs’ (Heteroptera) in which only the tips of the wings are membranous;
the rest of the wing is hardened. When the bug is at rest, the wings are held flat over the body
and the membranous parts of the wings overlap (2).
Also known as
green stink bug.
Size
Length: 12-13.5 mm (2)
More »
Related species

2. ·
Common pond skater
(Gerris lacustris)
·
New Forest cicada
(Cicadetta montana)
·
Common froghopper
(Philaenus spumarius)
Top
Green shield bug biology
Adult green shield bugs emerge from hibernation in May and mate in June (2). As with most
bugs, individuals mate ‘back to back’ (4). The eggs are laid in hexagonal batches of around 28,
and a single female will lay a number of batches so that the total number she lays will be
around 100 (2). All bugs have a type of insect development known as ‘hemimetabolous
development’ in which there is no larval stage but a number of wingless nymphs instead
which resemble the adult form(4). This species passes through five nymphal stages, moulting
between each one. Each stage has a different colouration, and the final stage has short wings.
The adult stage is reached in September, and they go into hibernation in November (2).

3. Top
Green shield bug range
Widespread in England and Wales but becomes rare further north, especially in Scotland (1)
(2). It is also found in mainland Europe where it is a minor pest (2).