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Sticker of Hawthorn shield bug
Bug card No. 0717 of 1,500

Hawthorn shield bug

Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The hawthorn shield bug is shaped like a knight's shield. It is green with dark red patches, and even its eyes are red. Its favourite food is the red berries of the hawthorn bush.

Lives in
All over Europe, from Portugal to Russia, on hawthorn and oak trees
Length
1.7 cm (0.67 in)
Top speed
about 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Like other stink bugs it can let out a bad smell if you bother it.
What does it eat?
It pokes its needle-like mouth into hawthorn berries and sucks up the sweet juice. In winter it can live on leaves.
For real!Photo of Hawthorn shield bug
Picture by Pjt56 --- If you use the picture outside Wikipedia I would appreciate a short e-mail to pjt56@gmx.net or a message on my discussion page. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Hawthorn shield bug about 1.7 cm long (0.67 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 3 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 15 seconds

How big is Hawthorn shield bug compared to YOU?

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

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It first squirts spit into the plant to make it soft, then slurps up the juice like soup through a straw.

2

If it is scared, it can make a stinky smell or an orange liquid.

3

It is slowly moving north and now lives even in the Scottish Highlands.

4

It sleeps through the winter, but on a warm winter day it may wake up and come out.

you asked

Most asked questions about Hawthorn shield bug

?Is the hawthorn shield bug harmful?

No. It is harmless, but it may make a bad smell if you touch it.

?What does the hawthorn shield bug eat?

Mostly the red berries of the hawthorn bush, and leaves in winter.

?Why is it called a shield bug?

Because its flat body is shaped like a knight's shield.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
Named by
Linnaeus, 1758
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Acanthosomatidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Acanthosomatidae
Lives on
Europe

Where the facts come from

  1. Hawthorn shield 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.
  2. Picture by Pjt56 --- If you use the picture outside Wikipedia I would appreciate a short e-mail to pjt56@gmx.net or a message on my discussion page. CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.

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