Order Heteroptera, family Lygaeidae

Ground Bugs

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Drymus sylvaticus (Fabricius, 1775)

Drymus sylvaticus
  • Cambridge, Gwydir Street: 23 Mar 2021
  • Found widely and commonly amongst moss, grass and leaf-litter on dryish soils, probably feeding on a range of herbaceous plants.
  • NBN Atlas

Emblethis denticollis Horváth, 1878

Emblethis denticollis
  • Cambridge, Gwydir Street: 3 May 2023
  • A recent arrival in Britain and first recorded in 1991, it has since been found widely in southern England, but is scarce and local
  • Associated with common storksbill Erodium cicutarium in sparsely-vegetated habitats.
  • This appears to be the FIRST RECORD FOR CAMBRIDGESHIREs.
  • NBN Atlas

Eremocoris fenestratus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1839)

Eremocoris fenestratus
  • Cambridge, Gwydir Street: 16 Apr 2018
  • A species which historially had a scattered distribution in England and Scotland. The last residue of this distribution, in the Chilterns, is believed to have died out in the early 1960s.
  • This species reappeared in the London area during 2010 where it was found under cypress trees. This is assumed to be due to insects travelling with imported plants from the European mainland. Since then it has been found at sites in the home counties and also Yorkshire.
  • This is believed to be the FIRST RECORD FROM CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
  • NBN Atlas

Eremocoris podagricus (Fabricius, 1775)

Eremocoris podagricus
  • Roman Road, near Babraham, Cambs. TL523522: 30 May 2018
  • The species seems to be particularly associated with moss beneath hawthorns growing on chalk downland.
  • NBN Atlas

Graptopeltus lynceus (Fabricius, 1775)

Graptopeltus lynceus
  • Cambridge, Gwydir Street: 27 May 2021
  • Viper's Bugloss is the main host-plant, although increasingly other species in the borage family are exploited, including Forget-me-nots and Green Alkanet.
  • Said to favour dry sparsely-vegetated habitats such as dunes and breckland, but this was in a normal garden.
  • Southern & Eastern England.NBN Atlas

Nettle Groundbug Heterogaster urticae (Fabricius, 1775)

Heterogaster urticae Heterogaster urticae
  • Cambridge, Mill Road Cemetery TL462582: 7 Sep 2014
  • Found on nettles in large aggregations of nymphs (l) and adults (r).
  • NBN Atlas

Ischnodemus sabuleti (Fallén, 1826)

Ischnodemus sabuleti Ischnodemus sabuleti
  • Cambridge, Byron's Pool: 26 May 2015 (l); Perse School: 16 Sep 2014 (r).
  • A species of wetland areas which can occur in very large swarms.
  • The macropterous and micropterous forms seen here are both common and can occur in the same population.
  • NBN Atlas

Birch Catkin Bug Kleidocerys resedae (Panzer, 1797)

Kleidocerys resedae
  • Cambridge, Mill Road Cemetery TL462582: 11 Jun 2015
  • Common around birch trees.
  • Forewings are largely transparent.
  • NBN Atlas

Nysius huttoni F.B. White, 1878

Nysius huttoni
  • Cambridge, Gwydir Street: 29 Sep 2022
  • Originally from New Zealand, first noted in Britain in 2010.
  • Distinguished from other Nysius species by long hairs that cover the pronotum and forewings.
  • Polyphagous on a large number of weeds and crops. Reported to favour habitats with sandy soil.
  • NBN Atlas

Rhyparochromus vulgaris (Schilling, 1829)

Rhyparochromus vulgaris
  • Cambridge, Midsummer Common TL457589: 18 May 2023
  • A recent arrival in Britain first recorded in the London area in 2010/11; in Cambridgeshire 2023.
  • Very active and difficult to photograph! Most records are from dry grasslands.
  • NBN Atlas

Scolopostethus thomsoni Reuter, 1874

Scolopostethus thomsoni
  • Cambridge, Gwydir Street: 23 Jul 2001
  • Often found among nettles
  • Other Scolopostethus spp. are very similar, but the red & black antennae seem to fit thomsoni
  • NBN Atlas

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