Separate Species - _TNY_5051
Most people around here who know stuff about insects will identify this one as the striped bug (Graphosoma lineatum) - but it isn't.
Look at the colour of the legs. G. lineatum has completely red/orange legs, and this one doesn't. That's because it is actually a Graphosoma italicum. G. italicum was considered a subspecies to lineatum up until 2007, but DNA analysis has shown that not only is is a separate species, but also more closely related to G. rubrolineatum.
Anyways, this specimen and a couple of its buddies were hanging out on their favourite plant, the cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) in Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park, just south of Sweden in late May.
Separate Species - _TNY_5051
Most people around here who know stuff about insects will identify this one as the striped bug (Graphosoma lineatum) - but it isn't.
Look at the colour of the legs. G. lineatum has completely red/orange legs, and this one doesn't. That's because it is actually a Graphosoma italicum. G. italicum was considered a subspecies to lineatum up until 2007, but DNA analysis has shown that not only is is a separate species, but also more closely related to G. rubrolineatum.
Anyways, this specimen and a couple of its buddies were hanging out on their favourite plant, the cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) in Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park, just south of Sweden in late May.