Metallic Shield Bug -Scutiphora pedicellata
Family Scutelleridae
- This page contains pictures and information about Metallic Shield Bugs that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 15mm
- Metallic Shield Bugs can be found on leaf letter or under bark. They feed on vegetable, garden plants, trees and fruits. The bugs are metallic green in colour with orange and black patterns on the top. Underside of their body is bright red and black.
- Those pictures are taken in Yugarapul Park on Oct 2004.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 508, plate 3Q.
- 2. Insects of Australia, Hangay, George, & German, Pavel, Reed New Holland, Sydney, 2000, pp 65.
- 3. Scutiphora pedicellata - Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Commonwealth of Australia 2005.
- 4. Revision of the Australian Scutelleridae Leach (Hemiptera) - FJD McDonald and G Cassis, Australian Journal of Zoology, 1984.
This bug is in the Shield-backed bug family. Shield-backed bugs are plant suckers. They can be distinguished from other shield bugs by their scutellum completely covered the whole abdomen and wings. This is why sometimes they are miss-recognized as beetle. They are easily distinguished from beetles by having sucking mouthparts and the shield on the back is continuous, not the divided wings cover with separation at the middle.
