Eysarcoris venustissimus, Woundwort Bug

Scientific Name: Eysarcoris venustissimus

With a length of approximately 5mm, Eysarcoris venustissimus, more commonly known as the Woundwort Bug, is generally found in the southern half of England and Wales. They are quite small, but can sometimes be spotted glistening on nettles and woundwort plants on sunny days.

Their bodies are a greyish-white colour and have patches of metallic bronze on the head, the front of the pronotum, and on the front of the scutellum, while the connexivum is marked with black and white. The larvae, which appear late June until October, colony feed on the seeds of Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) and sometimes other plants in the Labiateae such as white dead-nettle.

Although rare in the 19th century, this shieldbug is now widespread in southern and central Britain as far north as Yorkshire, in hedgerows and woodland edges.

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