Bishop's Mitre Shieldbug - Aelia acuminata

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Description

Length 8 to 9 mm. A large and distinctive striped shieldbug with an obviously pointed head and ridged pronotum. 

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Tall and rank dry grassland habitats

When to see it

Adult: All year, with new adults found from August onwards.

Life History

There is one generation per year, adults mating and laying eggs in spring and early summer. The larvae feed on the ripening seeds of a range of grasses.

UK Status

Widespread across southern Britain.

VC55 Status

Status in Leicestershire and Rutland to follow.

  • Mark Skevington
    Ketton Quarry
    06 July 2013
  • David Gould
    Aylestone Meadows, Spearwort Fields
    17 August 2019
    final instar nymph
  • David Nicholls
    Bagworth Heath
    19 May 2011
  • HAPeacock
    The Orchards
    05 July 2012
  • Mark Skevington
    Ketton Quarry
    07 August 2020
    nymph
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote, Land behind William Spencer Avenue
    05 June 2019
  • Graham Calow
    Nailstone, colliery land reclamation area
    18 June 2019

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species data profile ?

Species profile

Common names
Bishop's Mitre
Species group:
Bugs
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Hemiptera
Family:
Pentatomidae
Records on NatureSpot:
66
First record:
19/05/2011 (Nicholls, David)
Last record:
03/09/2023 (Pugh, Dylan)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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Latest images

Latest records

  • stepgray4
    Bardon Hill
    07 June 2022
  • David Nicholls
    Cloud Wood
    18 August 2022
  • Annie Smith
    Charnwood Lodge NR
    10 August 2017
    nymph
  • HAPeacock
    The Orchards
    05 July 2012
  • David Nicholls
    Bagworth Heath
    19 May 2011
  • David Gould
    The Spearwort Fields
    14 September 2016
  • David Gould
    The Spearwort Fields
    14 September 2016