Deraeocoris flavilinea
This tree bug has spread rapidly across new parts of Europe since the 1990s, and males and females differ in colour enough to look like separate species.
| Where | Sycamore and field maple trees |
|---|---|
| Size | 7 to 8 mm body length |
| When | May to July |
This mirid plant bug measures 7 to 8 mm long and shows strong differences between the sexes: males are much darker than the more orange females, and both have pale margins to the front and back of the pronotum and small yellow or orange spots near the wing tips. The legs carry a distinctive brick red band on the tibiae.
Adults and nymphs live mainly on sycamore and field maple, though they also turn up on other broadleaved trees and shrubs, feeding from May to July. The species has expanded rapidly across parts of central and western Europe since the 1990s, colonising new ground well beyond its original range.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Black, Orange
Active
Day
To people
It does not bite or sting and is harmless to handle when checking identification features.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Larger at 8.5 to 10.5 mm and a more uniform brick red all over, lacking the pale wing-tip spots and strong male-female colour contrast of Deraeocoris flavilinea, and it favours mature hawthorn rather than maple.
Questions
Is Deraeocoris flavilinea dangerous to people?
It does not bite or sting and is harmless to handle when checking identification features.
When can you see Deraeocoris flavilinea?
Deraeocoris flavilinea can be seen from May to July, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by janetgraham84new, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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True bugs›Plant bugs›Deraeocoris
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.