Northern fruit bug
This shieldbug's body colour shifts from greyish yellow in summer toward reddish brown later in the season, though its sharply pointed shoulders stay the same shape all year.
| Where | Deciduous and mixed forest edges |
|---|---|
| Size | 11 to 14 mm body length |
| When | April to September |
The Northern fruit bug has a variable body colour ranging from greyish yellow to reddish brown, scattered with fine black dots, and shoulders drawn out into sharp angled points, most pronounced in summer specimens.
Adults and nymphs feed by piercing seeds and soft plant tissue, and are active from spring through autumn in deciduous and mixed woodland across much of Europe.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Brown, Grey
Active
Day
To people
Feeds on plants by piercing tissue with its mouthparts; does not bite or sting people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar in size at 11 to 13 mm, told apart by the shape of the pronotum's side angles and differently shaped black shoulder markings.
Questions
Is the Northern fruit bug dangerous to people?
Feeds on plants by piercing tissue with its mouthparts; does not bite or sting people.
When can you see the Northern fruit bug?
The Northern fruit bug can be seen from April to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Göran Liljeberg, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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True bugs›Shield bugs›Carpocoris
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.