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Sticker of Dock bug
Bug card No. 0411 of 1,500

Dock bug

Coreus marginatus
Name means: “it loves dock plants, and marginatus refers to the wide edges of its tummy”
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The dock bug is a speckled reddish brown bug with a wide, flat body. Its feelers are orange with a black tip. You can find it on dock and sorrel plants in hedges and weedy places.

Lives in
Europe, Asia and North Africa, in hedgerows, weedy places and thick plants
Length
1.3 to 1.5 cm (0.51 to 0.59 in)
Top speed
about 0.22 km/h (0.14 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. If you pick it up, it may make a strong smell, so it is better to just watch it.
What does it eat?
It eats the leaves and seeds of docks and sorrels, and sometimes raspberries and gooseberries. Young ones eat leaves and stems, older ones eat seeds.
For real!Photo of Dock bug
Picture by JackyM59. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Dock bug about 1.5 cm long (0.59 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 2.5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 16 seconds

How big is Dock bug compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

When it is bothered, it lets out a strong, stinky smell to scare enemies away.

2

Its babies look very different: they are spiky, with huge feelers for their size.

3

Grown-up dock bugs sleep through the winter and lay their eggs in early summer.

4

It was one of the very first true bugs ever described by scientists, back in 1758.

5

Males are a bit smaller than females but have longer feelers.

you asked

Most asked questions about Dock bug

?What does a dock bug eat?

The leaves and seeds of dock and sorrel plants, and sometimes berries.

?Do dock bugs smell?

Yes, when bothered they release a strong smell to protect themselves.

?Is the dock bug harmful?

No. It is harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Coreus marginatus
Named by
Linnaeus, 1758
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Coreidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Coreidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa

Where the facts come from

  1. Coreus marginatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by JackyM59. CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.

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