Green stink bug
Green stink bug | ||||||||||||
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![]() Green stink bug ( Palomena prasina ), summer form |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Palomena prasina | ||||||||||||
( Linnaeus , 1761) |
The Green stink bug , also known as Common Stinkwanze or Common Greenfinch ( Palomena prasina called), is a bug in the family of stink bugs (Pentatomidae).
features
The bugs are 12 to 13.5 millimeters long and have a broad, oval body. From spring to autumn the animals have a green base color and are finely dotted with dark spots; in autumn they change their color to brown or red-brown under temperature control, in order to turn green again after wintering. The wing membrane is dark. Your pronotum is concave at the front edge inwards. This distinguishes the species from the similar Palomena viridissima , whose pronotum rim is convex outwards. In both species the scutellum has the same color as the basic body color. The second antenna element is the same length as the third, the fourth and fifth elements are reddish in color.
The nymphs have a very different black and white pattern in the different stages with a green base color. Nezara viridula , a species originally distributed in Africa, but introduced in large parts of Europe and now common in southern Europe, has a similarity to the green stink bug. The similar species, however, has three to five white dots on the front edge of the label and a black dot on each end of this front edge. The species also lacks fine black dots on its body and its wing membrane is only pale in color. In some individuals, the head and parts of the front edge of the pronotum are also cream-colored.
Occurrence and habitat
The species is distributed from North Africa across Europe to Central Asia. In Central Europe the species is mostly common and only rarer in the north. They are found in the herbaceous layer and on deciduous trees in many dry to damp habitats.
Way of life
The green stink bug is polyphagous , but prefers to live on deciduous trees such as alder and linden , on bushes, on nettles or thistles. Occasionally it also occurs in larger numbers in gardens and agriculture, but it is not a relevant pest. Young nymphs suckle on the vegetative parts of the food plants, older and adult animals mainly suckle on ripening seeds and fruits. The adult animals overwinter in dry and sheltered places under woodland and reappear on the food plants from May onwards. Mating and egg-laying takes place mainly in May and June, but can also be observed in July. The females stick their eggs in round clusters of up to 28 eggs somewhere on the food plants. From the end of July and especially in August the sexually mature animals of the new generation appear; However, nymphs can appear until late fall. Especially in the mountain areas, it is also possible that the nymphs cannot complete their development before winter and perish. One generation occurs every year.
Origin of name
As the name stink bug suggests, the insect can secrete a foul-smelling and long-lasting secretion from the stink glands on the abdomen.
Picture gallery
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Palomena prasina. British Bugs, accessed November 20, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c Green stink bug - Palomena prasina (LINNÉ, 1761). www.natur-in-nrw.de, accessed on November 20, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c d Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 4: Pentatomomorpha II: Pentatomoidea: Cydnidae, Thyreocoridae, Plataspidae, Acanthosomatidae, Scutelleridae, Pentatomidae. (= The animal world of Germany and the adjacent parts of the sea according to their characteristics and their way of life . 81st part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2008, ISBN 978-3-937783-36-9 , pp. 136 ff .
- ^ Nezara viridula. British Bugs, accessed November 20, 2013 .
- ↑ Nature in NRW.de
literature
- Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 4: Pentatomomorpha II: Pentatomoidea: Cydnidae, Thyreocoridae, Plataspidae, Acanthosomatidae, Scutelleridae, Pentatomidae. (= The animal world of Germany and the adjacent parts of the sea according to their characteristics and their way of life . 81st part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2008, ISBN 978-3-937783-36-9 .