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Sticker of Semipunctated shield bug
Bug card No. 3789 of 4,939

Semipunctated shield bug

Graphosoma semipunctatum
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The semipunctated shield bug is a bright red bug with black spots and stripes. It lives around the Mediterranean Sea. Its red colour warns birds that it tastes bad.

Lives in
Around the Mediterranean Sea
Top speed
about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. Like other shield bugs it might give off a smell if handled.
What does it eat?
It sucks juice from plants of the carrot family.
For real!Photo of Semipunctated shield bug
Picture by Anna N Chapman. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It lives only around the Mediterranean Sea.

2

It looks very much like its cousin, the striped shield bug, but it has black dots on its front part instead of lines.

3

Its legs are mostly orange.

4

You can often find lots of them together on carrot family flowers.

you asked

Most asked questions about Semipunctated shield bug

?Is the semipunctated shield bug poisonous?

It tastes bad to birds, but it is harmless to people.

?Where does the semipunctated shield bug live?

Around the Mediterranean Sea, on plants of the carrot family.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Graphosoma semipunctatum
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Pentatomidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Pentatomidae
Lives on
Europe, Africa, Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Graphosoma semipunctatum (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 Anna N Chapman. CC0, 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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