The Meat-Eating Kind - _TNY_0016
Some shield bugs are vegetarians and use their long rostrum to suck juice out of plants. Others, like this spiked shieldbug (Picromerus bidens), also known as the spiny shieldbug, are predatory and hunt other bugs (and often caterpillars) and impale them on the rostrum before sucking out the insides.
This particular one was haning out on a piece of wood at Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park, south of Stockholm, Sweden on an August 1st visit.
The species name "bidens" isn't a reference to an American president, but simply means "two teeth" and looking at the shoulders, I have no doubt you'll see where the name comes from.
An older shot showing another one of thes which has impaled a small caterpillar can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52798248394/
The Meat-Eating Kind - _TNY_0016
Some shield bugs are vegetarians and use their long rostrum to suck juice out of plants. Others, like this spiked shieldbug (Picromerus bidens), also known as the spiny shieldbug, are predatory and hunt other bugs (and often caterpillars) and impale them on the rostrum before sucking out the insides.
This particular one was haning out on a piece of wood at Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park, south of Stockholm, Sweden on an August 1st visit.
The species name "bidens" isn't a reference to an American president, but simply means "two teeth" and looking at the shoulders, I have no doubt you'll see where the name comes from.
An older shot showing another one of thes which has impaled a small caterpillar can be found here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52798248394/