Garden And Gossip Forums

Another potential bug to deal with!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56366107

I'm not going to click "like", because I don't - but thanks for the heads-up, Admin!

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Yep, spotted this on the BBC website.  Looks a bit like a shield bug so no need to go zapping bugs because of it.  Anyway, hopefully its a bit too cold for it in these parts.

Shield bugs emit a smell, I don't find it unpleasant, it's a bit like citronella. Have often found, after rummaging amongst the raspberries, a lingering coriander/citronella ish smell and it turns out to be me, I have a shield bug lurking somewhere. Is this stink bug a variation on the shield bug, and do any of them harm the crops?

(12-03-2021, 04:09 PM)JJB Wrote: [ -> ]Shield bugs emit a smell, I don't find it unpleasant, it's a bit like citronella.  Have often found, after rummaging amongst the raspberries,  a lingering coriander/citronella ish smell and it turns out to be me, I have a shield bug lurking somewhere.  Is this stink bug a variation on the shield bug, and do any of them harm the crops?

 This link will help ID who’s who. Shield bug & stink bugs are the same thing.

https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/gallery/h...oidea.html

(12-03-2021, 04:09 PM)JJB Wrote: [ -> ]Is this stink bug a variation on the shield bug, and do any of them harm the crops?

It looks very similar to the hawthorn shield bugs I occasionally see around here.

I found this on the Natural History Museum website:

During the summer, these pesky pests feast on fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, peaches, tomatoes and sweetcorn by piercing the surface and sucking out the juice. They distort the produce and leave behind rotting spots and blemishes which can make the plant inedible or unsellable.

Museum entomologist Max Barclay says, 'If you eat a damaged fruit, there's no risk to your health. The fruit just doesn't look beautiful, so the sale value is reduced. These fruits usually end up as juice.'

'One of the reasons stink bugs are considered pests is because they cluster around window frames in large numbers and leave droppings,' says Max. 'If you try and sweep them away, they will produce these unpleasant-smelling oils which will stain the furniture. If the oils get on your fingers, it's really hard to remove.'

So yes, pretty nasty all round! 

Oh dear, the if in doubt poison it folks will be out in force.

(12-03-2021, 08:25 PM)PyreneesPlot Wrote: [ -> ]Oh dear, the if in doubt poison it folks will be out in force.

I've never found them too much of a problem, there's lots worse out there, so I think I'll just keep an eye out and leave them be.

Sorry, that wasn't a dig ( ) at anyone on here, but I have just left a mostly lovely French gardening group because of a few kill it first, ask later types who had rather a vicious streak. Quelle surprise !

I'm used to the green stink bugs but I literally had loads of them on my beans last year which I'd never seen before in such huge numbers.

I will be taking more note of what I have if I see them this year and will check the colour - I don't used sprays, lotions or potions. It is what it is here....but I will be sending some in for ID if I get more than usual and they look suspect. Shield bugs STINK! No way are they similar to citronella! The smell actually makes me feel sick. I wish I had your sense of small JJB