Common green shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

A large shieldbug with a dark wing membrane and reddish antennae (4th and 5th segments). Adults are bright green in the spring and summer but finely punctured with dark marks. They become a darker bronze-brown prior to winter hibernation.

There is one generation per year; the nymphs feed on many deciduous trees and shrubs and can be found from June to October. Later nymphs are often darker than those found earlier in the season. Newly-emerged adults may show a pale wing membrane, leading to possible confusion with Nezara viridula, a recent arrival in southern England.

Common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland in numerous habitats, as far north as southern Scotland.

Seen on Hounslow Heath, in July 2020