20_05_06_6021EurydemaOrnataGardenEd

) Colourful shieldbug Eurydema ornata on garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) at Springhill garden on 6th May 2020. This shieldbug isn’t mentioned in the ‘Shieldbugs of Surrey’ book (Surrey Wildlife Atlas) of 2003, by Roger Hawkins. According to Roger (pers. comm.) this is a common European species that was found to be breeding in Britain a few years ago, at a coastal site in south Hampshire, and may now be spreading. He knows of at least one previous Surrey record that he had interpreted as an accidental introduction. The shieldbug sucks the sap of plants, especially those of the Brassicaceae. If you see this bug please photograph it and note the plant it is on and what it is doing as Roger is keen to know more about it.

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