In early
February 2011 we found some Shieldbug ovae which were
thought to be those of Picromerus bidens, a
common Shieldbug on Budby South Forest where the eggs
were found. The egg batch had been laid underneath the
loose bark on a branch of a semi-mature Oak, felled a
couple of years previous. As Picromerus bidens was one of
the few Shieldbugs for which we had no images of the ovae
or nymph stages, the ovae were retained and taken home
for hatching. After
a couple of weeks, the eggs began to show signs of
darkening, but it was not until March 11th, that they
started to hatch. Imagine our surprise, when the
following species emerged. What actually did emerge, was
certainly not what we were expecting.
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