Hairy Shieldsbugs (Dolycoris baccarumon) on mountain knapweed seed heads
There were about 20+ Hairy Shieldbugs crawling all over the seed heads of my perennial cornflowers Centaurea montana or mountain knapweeds as I call them, which had gone mostly to seed mid-June. These flowers themselves are a magnet for bumblebees and certain solitary bees and are a good flower to plant for them as it is rich in nectar and pollen. They like full sun.
You are supposed to be foraging on it not sleeping!
Well, this trio bumblebees had slept on all night on this mountain knapweed!!
Hairy Shieldbugs mating on a mountain knapweed seed head
I thought I would give the non-bee little beasties a shout for a change. What a lovely golden shield! They were causing some interest from several ants and eventually were forced to do an ‘about-turn’ whilst still coupled up!
Nice website links here to photos and a little more information about them British Bugs
Which also has a link to a British Bugs ID chart for those other shieldbugs you may see, with such names as Bishops Mitre, Scarab Bug and Pied Shieldbug. Fascinating. The Shieldbugs of Norfolk is another good ID chart to download.
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