European tortoise bug
The European tortoise bug is a round, slightly domed bug that really does look like a tiny tortoise. A big shield covers its whole back, wings and all. It is usually brown, but some are grey or black.
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Fun facts
Farmers count it as a pest, because both the grown-ups and the young ones damage grain crops.
The mother lays her eggs in little packs on the underside of leaves.
The young bugs shed their skin five times before they are grown up.
It spends the winter hiding in fallen leaves.
Most asked questions about European tortoise bug
?Is the tortoise bug harmful?
Not to people. But it can damage wheat, rye and barley, so farmers see it as a pest.
?Why is it called a tortoise bug?
Because its round, domed back looks like a tortoise shell.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Eurygaster maura
- Group
- True bugs and cicadas
- Family
- Scutelleridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hemiptera > Scutelleridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America
- Also known as
- Tortoise bug
Where the facts come from
- Eurygaster maura (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 Didier Descouens. 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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