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Sticker of Box bug
Bug card No. 0593 of 4,939

Box bug

Gonocerus acuteangulatus
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The box bug is a speckled reddish brown bug with a slightly wide, flat body. It loves warm, sunny bushes. It pokes its beak into ripe berries and drinks their juice.

Lives in
Around the Mediterranean, east to Central Asia and in parts of northwestern Europe
Length
1.1 to 1.4 cm (0.43 to 0.55 in)
Top speed
about 0.22 km/h (0.14 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
It sucks the juice of ripe fruits and berries, for example from box, buckthorn, dog rose and hawthorn.
For real!Photo of Box bug
Picture by Didier Descouens. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Box bug about 1.4 cm long (0.55 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 2.5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 16 seconds

How big is Box bug compared to YOU?

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

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

In Britain it once lived only on Box Hill in Surrey, where it fed on box trees. That is how it got its name.

2

Its babies have a green tummy.

3

Grown-up box bugs can be found all year round.

4

Farmers who grow hazelnuts and pistachios do not like it, because it damages their crops.

you asked

Most asked questions about Box bug

?Why is it called the box bug?

Because in Britain it was once only found on Box Hill, feeding on box trees.

?Is the box bug harmful?

Not to people. It only harms some crops, like hazelnuts and pistachios.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Gonocerus acuteangulatus
Named by
Goeze, 1778
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Coreidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Coreidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa

Where the facts come from

  1. Gonocerus acuteangulatus (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 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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More from the same group: True bugs and cicadas

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