Forest bug
It is one of the few shieldbugs with an appetite for meat, ambushing caterpillars and other small insects alongside its usual diet of tree fruit and sap.
| Where | Woodland, orchards, hedgerows, gardens with trees |
|---|---|
| Size | 11 to 14 mm long |
| When | May to October |
It is a large, flattish, bronze-brown shieldbug with reddish-orange legs and antennae bases, and squared-off shoulders that give it a distinctive silhouette.
It overwinters as a young nymph on trees such as oak, hazel and fruit trees, finishing its development and reaching adulthood the following summer.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Brown, Orange
Active
Day
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The bronze shieldbug lacks the forest bug's bright orange-red legs and squared shoulder projections.
Questions
Is the Forest bug dangerous to people?
The Forest bug is harmless to people.
When can you see the Forest bug?
The Forest bug can be seen from May to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by David Short from Windsor, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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True bugs›Shield bugs›Pentatoma
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.