This small, brown and
inconspicuous Shieldbug is still a rare find in Nottinghamshire, but the
number of county records have increased. Nottinghamshire's first record
of Podops inuncta seems to be from Bentinck Banks in 2007 (Kirby, P.), followed by records from Gedling CP in May 2013 (Flanagan, J.), North Muskham in March 2022 and from Gunhorpe in 2023
(both Pendleton, T.A.). It should continue to turn up at other
Nottinghamshire sites in the
future.
Podops inuncta (the Turtle Shieldbug is a ground dwelling
species and not often found unless specifically looked
for. The Gunthorpe record came from a leaf litter sample taken from
underneath a single large Sallow in rough grassland and the North
Muskham record, was from under a large piece of wood on the bank of the
River Trent. There are several very similar species, but
identification is made easier by the two projections on
the pronotum, located either side of the eyes on this species. |
