Parent Bug

The Parent Bug is a medium-sized brownish-red shieldbug with a black and white chequered pattern along its sides. There is usually an obvious black patch on the scutellum. Males have blackish antennae and females have dark brown. Males are smaller than females.

They overwinter as adults and emerge in the spring, when they mate. The male will die soon after mating. The female will surive for some time. The Parent Bug female is a dedicated mother. She lays her eggs in a tight cluster on the underside of a Silver Birch leaf. She will brood her eggs, sitting protectively over them until they hatch and will continue to parent them as young larvae. The larvae go through five changes before becoming an adult. These new adults can be seen from August onwards.

Adults feed on various woody plants, preferably birch, but can be seen on alder, beech and holly. The larvae feed on birch and alder. Both adults and larvae readily feed on the developing seeds of birch.

Common and widespread across Britain.

The Parent Bug is so-named because the adult females take such good care of their young. This protection helps to prevent attack by parasitic wasps. You can often find Parent Bugs on Silver Birch leaves, sheltering or leading a gaggle of tiny youngsters.