Troilus luridus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Troilus luridus, also known as the bronze shieldbug, is a species of shield bug found in Europe. It was first described by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. Shieldbugs are generally phytophagous (i.e., feeding on plant sap) and some, including Troilus luridus, are also carnivorous and will eat the larvae of beetles, lepidoptera and sawflies.
Troilus luridus is a large predatory bronze-brown shieldbug in the family Pentatomidae. It measures about 10 to 12 mm in length and has a distinctive, orange band on the penultimate antennal segment. The legs are brown and the scutellum lacks an orange tip. Live prey is essential to development and adults walk slowly about in search of their prey; usually larvae, but sometimes the adults of beetles, butterflies and moths. They hold the prey at the tip of its rostrum using their mandibular and maxillary stylets which spread out within the prey cutting away at tissues.
The bugs overwinter as adults and, depending on temperature, emerge in April. Eggs are laid in May and June and are laid in batches, initially around 21, with the number reducing with each batch, until they are only laid in ones and twos. At... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bronze Shield Bug sighting in Birmingham on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 668th most-seen of the 811 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bronze Shield Bug in Birmingham on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bronze Shield Bug sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Bronze Shield Bug sightings, Birmingham ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Helsinki (Finland, under 5%).
Same family: Pentatomidae
The closest relatives of the Bronze Shield Bug that you can see in Birmingham (family Pentatomidae, Stink Bugs) are Green Shield Bug (about 40%), Forest Bug (about 20%) and Sloe Bug (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bronze Shield Bug is recorded against all the insects logged in Birmingham (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
