Choerocoris paganus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Choerocoris paganus, is a native Australian insect, also commonly known as both the red jewel bug and ground shield bug. This small bug with a body length of 1cm is easily recognisable with its large, mostly crimson scutella with a large blue black blotch towards the front and two small blotches towards the back that have a copper, green hue. The head and legs are dark blue.They are one of the most commonly encountered jewel bugs in Australia and can easily be distinguished from other species by textured areas on and around the pronotum. It is generally not harmful, but can excrete pungent stink fluid if handled roughly.
The first scientific description of the Australian red jewel bug was made in 1775 by Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius as a species of true bug in the family Scutelleridae, the 'shield backed bugs'. These are not be confused with jewel beetles which are from the order coleoptera with different mouth and wing features.
The genus name Choerocoris is derived its name from the Greek words 'choiros', for its 'pig-like' rounded appearance, and 'koris', for its convex bug shape. The species epithet paganus comes from its latin root... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red Jewel Bug sighting in Perth on a given day, based on 43 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 275 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red Jewel Bug in Perth on a given day, against under 5% in March to August, the lowest months. Those are among Perth's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in July.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red Jewel 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 Red Jewel Bug sightings, Perth ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hobart (Australia, about 10%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Red Jewel Bug that you can see in Perth (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Crusader Bug (about 20%), Poecilometis lineatus (about 10%) and Gum Tree Shield Bug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red Jewel Bug is recorded against all the insects logged in Perth (43 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.
