Shield Bug

Today we visited an Open Garden called Roselea in the small country town of Mt. Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills, on the way to the Barossa Valley. A very pleasant one hour drive, no pun intended.

Although the roses were not yet in bloom, there was a lot going on in this quite amazing garden. My goal as a blipper has always been to blip a diversity of photo types, and with my 100 fast approaching, it was time to lift my game in macros. Not that I can compete with Paladian!

From my best 4 pix of the day, it turned out to be several macros and 2 other photos making a mixed bag. OK I am going with a bug macro as it was the most challenging to capture, and the other 3 pix will be in my BLOG for the day.

The green shield bug, nymphs and adults, have piercing mouthparts, which most use to suck sap from plants, although some eat other insects. When they group in large numbers, they can become significant pests for farmers and garden owners. See him in LARGE.

Shield bugs have glands in their thorax between the first and second pair of legs which produce a foul smelling liquid. This liquid is used defensively to deter potential predators and is sometimes released when the bugs are touched or handled carelessly. Luckily we saw no evidence of this as we certainly did not touch the bug.

The owner of this garden has very kindly invited us to come back for a private photography visit. His 4 acres of gardens were loaded with birds, bees, frogs, bugs and flowers! You can be sure we will take him up on this offer and soon!