This East Asian shield bug, about 3/8–9/16 in (10–14 mm) long, has a bright yellow or white heart-shaped mark in the middle of its back. Females sit over their egg clusters and guard the eggs and newly hatched young. It lives in Japan and Korea and is not found in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Yellowish-green body with reddish-brown and green markings, pointed shoulders that stick out like horns, and a pale heart-shaped patch in the center of the back.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Mountain forests
- Woodland edges
- Range
- Found in Korea and Japan (from Hokkaido south to the Amami Islands). It doesn't occur in North America.
Behavior
- Diet
- Sucks sap from trees such as dogwoods (Cornus).
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- The female lays a cluster of eggs on a leaf and covers them with her body. She keeps guarding the young until after their first molt, driving off ants and spiders and going without food the whole time.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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