Dock bug
Despite its heavily armoured, shield-like shape, this is one of the few large shieldbug relatives that survives a cold winter as a full-grown adult.
| Where | Grassland, hedgerows, gardens, waste ground |
|---|---|
| Size | 13 to 15 mm long |
| When | April to October |
It is a large, broad, reddish-brown bug with rounded shoulders, a rounded abdomen edge, and two small horn-like points between the antenna bases.
Both nymphs and adults feed on dock and other plants in the same family, and adults overwinter before mating and laying eggs the following spring.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Brown
Active
Day
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The box bug is slimmer with more pointed shoulders and lacks the dock bug's small horn-like projections between the antennae.
Questions
Is the Dock bug dangerous to people?
The Dock bug is harmless to people.
When can you see the Dock bug?
The Dock bug can be seen from April to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Janeklass, CC BY‑SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
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True bugs›Leaf-footed bugs›Coreus
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.