It’s a bug’s life

By Rachel Shaw

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

On a sunny morning last April, I sat in the garden filled with anticipation. 

The forget-me-nots were in full bloom and I was hopeful of seeing some tiny creatures that have taken up residence amongst the soft blue flowers. Four years ago, I sat in the same spot and a black shieldbug landed on my knee. 

To biologists, a bug is a very specific creature. We wince a little when the term is used for any small creepie-crawlie. True bugs are an order of insects known as Hemiptera which is from the Greek for “half-winged”.

 If you look closely on a shieldbug, you can see their outer pair of wings is hardened like a beetle’s but only covering half of their back. The membranous inner pair of wings is also visible. Species of true bug typically have long mouthparts, a little like a hypodermic needle that they use to suck up the juices of plants (and for some species, other animals). 

Shieldbugs are a group within this larger group of bugs whose shape broadly resembles a shield. You may have seen the completely green, and appropriately named, green shieldbug. 

Or the green and brown hawthorn shieldbug which feeds on hawthorn and other similar trees. The black shieldbug that landed on me, was much smaller than these species, perhaps only 6mm long. I’d never seen one before so once it had flown away, I looked it up. It was a forget-me-not shieldbug. 

They may not be that rare but I’d never seen one before and was delighted to have them in the garden. It soon became apparent that they were garden residents rather than just visitors - there was more than one and they were all in one area, amongst the forget-me-nots on the edge of the patio. 

Since I first saw them in 2020, I make a point of looking for them every spring. Last spring was dull and grey with a cold breeze. Warm days seemed few and far between so when one did arrive, I sat by the edge of the patio and waited. To my relief, after a few minutes, I spotted one of the shieldbugs, then another, and another. They were still in the garden! 

I sat in the sunshine and watched them for a while as they left the safety of their forget-me-not forest and walked out across the bare soil. A few brace individuals ventured onto the patio. They walked with a sense of purpose but then stopped and changed direction, like they’ve forgotten what they are doing. Definitely a feeling I can relate to! 

I feel a sense of responsibility for these little shieldbugs; the forget-me-nots in my garden are their home. Luckily for the shieldbugs, the forget-me-nots seed profusely ensuring there’s plenty of seeds for the shieldbugs to eat and to ensure there will always be forget-me-nots. 

Top picture shows Rachel’s picture of the black shield bug on a forget-me-not, followed by Tom Hibbert’s green shieldbug and Amy Lewis’ hawthorn shieldbug.