#gorse shieldbug

Gyvelbredtæge (Piezodorus lituratus)

Sene, voksne individer i artens mørke vinterdragt samt to nymfer på forskelligt udviklingstrin. Alle fundet samme dag på samme lokalitet.

Gyvelbredtægen overvintrer som imago, i løvet under foderplanten, typisk gyvel (Cytisus scoparius), og når dyrene kommer frem igen til april, skifter de farve til ensfarvet grøn eller gulgrøn.

Gorse Shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus)

Late, imago specimen with the species’s winter colouring and two different instar. All found on the same day in the same location.

Gorse shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus)

The gorse shieldbug is a large shieldbug with two adult colour forms which are related to sexual maturity. Those emerging and mating in the spring have predominantly green, whereas the new generation appearing in the late summer have purple-red markings on the pronotum and corium. Although often associated with gorse, larvae also feed on broom, dyer´s greenwood and other plants in the Genisteae, and have also been found on laburnum and clovers. They are common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland, in many habitats where gorse is present. They grow to a length of about 10-13 mm.

Piezodorus lituratus | ©Davide Rodilosso

Piezodorus lituratus (Hemiptera - Pentatomidae), known as Gorse Shieldbug, is a large shieldbug with two adult color forms which are related to sexual maturity. Those emerging and mating in the spring are predominantly green, whereas the new generation appearing in the late summer have purple-red markings on the pronotum and corium. As in many other shieldbugs, this species frequently becomes darker prior to hibernation.

Although often associated with gorse, larvae also feed on broom, dyer's greenwood and other plants.