Blue shield bug
The blue shield bug is a small bug shaped like a shield, and it shines metallic blue-green all over. It is a helpful hunter that eats leaf-munching beetles and caterpillars. Its babies look quite different, with a red belly and black marks.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Blue shield bug compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It has only one family of babies a year. Eggs are laid in spring and new grown-ups appear from July.
It spends the winter as a grown-up bug, hiding until spring.
It is a natural pest control helper, because it hunts flea beetles that damage plants.
Young blue shield bugs have a red belly with black markings, not blue.
Most asked questions about Blue shield bug
?Is the blue shield bug harmful?
No. It is harmless to people and even helps gardens by eating plant-eating beetles.
?How big is a blue shield bug?
About 5 to 8 millimetres long, smaller than your fingernail.
?What does the blue shield bug eat?
Mostly small beetles, beetle larvae and caterpillars, and sometimes plant juice.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Zicrona caerulea
- Group
- True bugs and cicadas
- Family
- Pentatomidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America
- Also known as
- Blue shieldbug
Where the facts come from
- Zicrona caerulea (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Ben Sale from Stevenage, UK. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Pharaoh cicada
Spotted lanternfly
Brown marmorated stink bug
Cochineal
Boxelder bug
Western conifer seed bug
Bowl and doily spider
Indian jumping ant
Ivy bee
Narcissus bulb fly
Oblong-winged katydid
Common crab spider_(47843429161).jpg){kind=link}