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Sticker of Vernal shield bug
Bug card No. 4573 of 4,939

Vernal shield bug

Peribalus strictus
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The vernal shield bug is a flat bug shaped like a little shield, greenish brown and covered in tiny dark dots. Its sides have a pattern of pale and black stripes. It is lighter in spring and summer and darker in autumn.

Lives in
Europe, Siberia and Central Asia to northern China and Japan, in warm clearings
Length
0.9 to 1.1 cm (0.37 to 0.43 in)
Top speed
about 0.19 km/h (0.12 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Like other stink bugs, it may let out a smelly liquid if you pick it up.
What does it eat?
It sucks juice from flowers, fruits and seeds of many plants, bushes and trees.
For real!Photo of Vernal shield bug
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Vernal shield bug about 1.1 cm long (0.43 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
as long as 2 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 19 seconds

How big is Vernal shield bug compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its feelers are orange yellow, but the last two parts are black.

2

The grown-ups sleep through the winter and come out again in spring.

3

Its babies especially like the ripe seeds of daisy and pea plants.

4

The new grown-ups of the year appear from the end of July.

you asked

Most asked questions about Vernal shield bug

?Is the vernal shield bug a stink bug?

Yes. It belongs to the stink bug family and can make a bad smell when disturbed.

?How big is the vernal shield bug?

About 1 centimetre long.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Peribalus strictus
Named by
Fabricius, 1803
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Pentatomidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia
Also known as
Vernal shieldbug

Where the facts come from

  1. Peribalus strictus (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 Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this 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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More from the same group: True bugs and cicadas

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

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