A forest bug

I realised a few days ago that I have not posted much about bugs (Hemiptera) in BugBlog. To start making amends, here comes a short one on a common bug these days, the forest bug Pentatoma rufipes, a quite large, showy shield bug easily to recognise for its spiky lateral thorax projections and orange legs. There are quite a few bug species about, many still nymphs, but an adult forest bug landed on my shoulder yesterday. Forest bugs lay their eggs on bark of oaks and other trees around this time of year and the nymphs hibernate on the trees. The adults are partly predatory. For lots of information and beautiful photos of British bugs here.