Some gregarious bugs
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Some gregarious bugs by Rose and Trev Clough as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Some gregarious bugs
Image: © Rose and Trev Clough Taken: 7 Oct 2013
Seen on an alder tree a few metres to the right of Image . These are nymphs of the parent bug (Elasmucha grisea), a species of shield bug (find more information on British Bugs website http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Acanthosomatidae/elasmucha_grisea.html ). They get their name from the behaviour of the female, who broods her cluster of eggs until they hatch then stays with the larvae for several weeks, defending them from predators. They are widespread and common across Britain and Ireland. For a closer view of this bunch see Image .
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.512386
Longitude
-0.976104