Arthropods Daily – October 2023 October 1, 2023 – October 31, 2023

No. 45 | October 2, 2023

Nut Weevil

Curculio nucum (nut weevil) is a medium-sized beetle, with an especially elongated snout, characteristic of the Curculionini tribe of the weevil family (Curculionidae). Its larvae develop in hazel nuts Corylus avellana, being a serious pest in hazenut orchards. It occurs in most of Europe, from south Sweden, Finland and Great Britain to the Mediterranean.

No. 46 | October 3, 2023

Green Shield Bug

The green shield bug (Palomena prasina) is a shield bug of the family Pentatomidae. It may also be referred to as a green stink bug, particularly outside of Britain, although the name green stink bug more appropriately belongs to the larger North American stink bug, Acrosternum hilare. The adult green shield bug ranges in the colour of their backs from bright green to bronze, without any substantial markings. Green shield bugs are a very common shield...

No. 47 | October 4, 2023

Lesser House Fly

The lesser house fly or little house fly, Fannia canicularis, is somewhat smaller (3.5–6 mm (0.14–0.24 in)) than the common housefly. It is best known for its habit of entering buildings and circling near the center of rooms. It is slender, and the median vein in the wing is straight. Larvae feed on all manner of decaying organic matter, including carrion. Among the Fanniidae, this species is the one most frequently associated with myiasis.

No. 48 | October 5, 2023

Two-spotted Grass Bug

Stenotus binotatus is a species of plant bug, originally from Europe, but now also established across North America and New Zealand. It is 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long, yellowish, with darker markings on the pronotum and forewings. It feeds on various grasses, and can be a pest of crops such as wheat.

No. 49 | October 6, 2023

Locust Blowfly

Stomorhina lunata is a species of fly in the family Calliphoridae, often misidentified because of the unusual band pattern in the abdomen, typical of hoverflies. S. lunata is an important egg predator of some major African agricultural pests, the South African Brown locust (Locustana pardalina), the more widespread Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), and the migratory locust (Locustana migratoria).

No. 50 | October 7, 2023

Rhododendron Leafhopper

Graphocephala fennahi (rhododendron leafhopper) is a species of leafhopper native to the United States. Its common name derives from it feeding on the sap of rhododendrons. The species was introduced to Great Britain in the 1930s and continental Europe in the 1970s. There has been suggestion that the rhododendron leafhopper contributes to the spread of a rhododendron fungus (Pycnostysanus azaleae) through Europe.

No. 51 | October 8, 2023

variable longhorn beetle

Stenocorus meridianus is a species of longhorn beetle in the Lepturinae subfamily that can be found anywhere in Europe (except for Faroe Islands, Iceland and Ireland, Malta, and parts of Italy such as San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, and Vatican city), Caucasus, and Kazakhstan. They are 15–27 millimetres (0.59–1.06 in). The species have brown coloured legs, but can have either black (female) or brown (male) coloured prothorax. They occasionally feed on deciduous trees such as elm, maple, and...

No. 52 | October 9, 2023

Common Winter Damselfly

Sympecma fusca, the common winter damselfly, is a damselfly a member of the Lestidae and related to the emeralds or spreadwings....

No. 53 | October 10, 2023

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan. In September 1998 it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United...

No. 54 | October 11, 2023

Common Red Soldier Beetle

The common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva), also misleadingly known as the bloodsucker beetle, and popularly known in England as the Hogweed Bonking Beetle is a species of soldier beetle (Cantharidae).

No. 55 | October 12, 2023

Forest Bug

The forest bug or red-legged shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes) is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae....

No. 56 | October 13, 2023

Red-barbed Ant

Formica rufibarbis is a European formicine ant of the Formica fusca group. In the classification by Auguste Forel, it is treated in the subgenus Serviformica. F. rufibarbis is subject to a Species Action Plan (SAP) in England, where it is known from only two locations, although it is not considered to be at risk on continental Europe.

No. 57 | October 14, 2023

Black Vine Weevil

Otiorhynchus sulcatus, commonly known as the black vine weevil or simply vine weevil, is native to Europe, but common in North America as well. It is a pest of many garden plants.

No. 58 | October 15, 2023

Deraeocoris lutescens

No. 59 | October 16, 2023

Common Crab Spider

Xysticus cristatus, the common crab spider, is a European spider from the family Thomisidae.

No. 61 | October 18, 2023

Oedemera femorata

No. 62 | October 19, 2023

Wood, Mound, and Field Ants

No. 63 | October 20, 2023

Sloe Bug

Dolycoris baccarum, the sloe bug, is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae....

No. 64 | October 21, 2023

Black-backed meadow ant

Formica pratensis, the black-backed meadow ant, is a species of European red wood ant in the family Formicidae.

No. 65 | October 22, 2023

Black-backed meadow ant

Formica pratensis, the black-backed meadow ant, is a species of European red wood ant in the family Formicidae.

No. 66 | October 23, 2023

Red-spotted Plant Bug

Deraeocoris ruber (also known as Mirid Bug) is a species of bugs in Miridae family.

No. 67 | October 24, 2023

Confusing Furrow Bee

Halictus confusus, the southern bronze furrow bee, is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae.

No. 68 | October 25, 2023

Shrill Carder-Bumble bee

Bombus sylvarum, the shrill carder bee or knapweed carder-bee, is a species of bumblebee with a wide distribution across Europe, east to the Ural Mountains, and north to Great Britain, Ireland, and southern Scandinavia.

No. 69 | October 26, 2023

Sharp-collared Furrow Bee

Lasioglossum malachurum, the sharp-collared furrow bee, is a small European halictid bee. This species is obligately eusocial, with queens and workers, though the differences between the castes are not nearly as extreme as in honey bees. Early taxonomists mistakenly assigned the worker females to a different species from the queens. They are small (about 1 cm), shiny, mostly black bees with off-white hair bands at the bases of the abdominal segments. L. malachurum is one of the...

No. 70 | October 27, 2023

Common Green Capsid

Lygocoris pabulinus also known as the common green capsid, is a species of bug from the family Miridae which can be found throughout Europe (except for Greece, Malta, and Iceland). It feeds on plants.

No. 71 | October 28, 2023

Alfalfa Plant Bug

Adelphocoris lineolatus, is commonly known as the Lucerne bug or the alfalfa plant bug, and belongs to the family Miridae. It is an agricultural pest causing vast amounts of damage to numerous crops, but primarily to alfalfa crops around the globe.

No. 72 | October 29, 2023

Common House Fly

The housefly (Musca domestica) is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fly species found in houses. Adults are grey to black with four dark longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red eyes, set...

No. 73 | October 30, 2023

Labidostomis longimana

Labidostomis longimana is a species of short-horned leaf beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Clytrinae.

No. 74 | October 31, 2023

Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle

The 14-spotted Ladybird (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata) is a small lady beetle, belonging to the family Coccinellidae. It is sometimes referred to by the common name 14-spotted ladybird beetle, or simply P-14.