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Sticker of Death head bug
Bug card No. 1315 of 4,939

Death head bug

Eucorysses grandis
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasForests and woods6 legs

The death head bug is a colourful shield bug from Asia. It can be cream, orange or purplish red, with black spots and a bluish shine. Its back is covered by one big shield, like a little knight's armour.

Lives in
Asia, from India, China and Japan down to the islands of Southeast Asia
Top speed
about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. Just watch it and let it walk on.
What does it eat?
Like other shield-backed bugs, it sucks juice from plants with its long, thin beak.
For real!Photo of Death head bug
Picture by Alpsdake. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Not every death head bug looks the same. Some are cream, some are orange and some are purplish red.

2

Its black spots and bluish shine can make it look like it is painted.

3

It belongs to the shield-backed bugs, whose big back shield covers almost the whole body.

you asked

Most asked questions about Death head bug

?Is the death head bug dangerous?

No. Despite its spooky name, it is a harmless plant-eating bug.

?Where does the death head bug live?

In Asia, in India, China, Japan and on the islands of Southeast Asia.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Eucorysses grandis
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Scutelleridae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Scutelleridae
Lives on
Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Eucorysses grandis (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 Alpsdake. CC BY-SA 4.0, 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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