Forest bug

Pentatoma rufipes

Name means: “rufipes means red-footed, for its reddish legs”

Eats: Plants True bugs and cicadasForests and woods6 legs

The forest bug is a big, flat shield bug shaped like a knight's shield. It is bronze to dark brown with orange legs and a pale orange spot at its back end. It has two pointy shoulders sticking out at the front, which makes it easy to recognise.

Lives in

Most of Europe, in forests, woods, orchards and gardens

Length

1.1 to 1.4 cm (0.43 to 0.55 in)

Top speed

about 0.22 km/h (0.14 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless to people. Fruit growers do not like it much, because it feeds on their trees.

What does it eat?

It sucks sap from oak, alder, hazel and fruit trees with its pointy beak. Sometimes the grown-ups also eat caterpillars or fruit.

Photo of Forest bug — Picture by Alchemist-hp ( www.pse-mendelejew.de ). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 16 seconds

How big is Forest bug compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)

Forest bug about 0.22 km/h (0.14 mph)

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

It is darker in autumn and lighter in summer.

The grown-ups can be found from July to November.

Mothers lay eggs in summer in cracks in tree bark, and the babies hatch the next spring.

Its favourite trees are oaks.

you asked

Most asked questions about Forest bug

?What does the forest bug eat?

Mostly tree sap, especially from oaks. Sometimes it eats caterpillars or fruit too.

?Is the forest bug harmful?

Not to people. It can damage fruit and nut trees a little.

?How big is the forest bug?

It is about 11 to 14 millimetres long.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Pentatoma rufipes
Named by: Linnaeus, 1758
Group: True bugs and cicadas
Family: Pentatomidae
Classification: Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
Lives on: Europe
Also known as: Red-legged shieldbug

Where the facts come from

Forest bug (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Alchemist-hp ( www.pse-mendelejew.de ). CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.