Italian Striped-Bug (copulation) ♂♀

Graphosoma lineatum

Description:

Graphosoma lineatum is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. It can reach a length of 8–12 mm. The body is almost round, with a large shield. The basic color of the upperside of the body is bright red, with wide black longitudinal stripes. The pronotum has six black bands. The antennae are black. Also the sides of the abdomen (Connexivum) are red with many small black spots. The legs may be black or red, depending on the subspecies. The bold red and black warning colors (aposematism) indicate that the insects are foul-tasting, protecting them from predators. The nymphs have no the red-black stripe pattern, they are mostly brownish or grayish.

Habitat:

Most contemporary authors consider G. lineatum and G. italicum as two different species: G. lineatum, with orange legs, is present in the south of Italy, in Sardinia, in North Africa and in the Near East while G. italicum, blacklegged, is distributed more towards the center and north of Europe (Ribes et al., 2008; Dusoulier and Lupoli, 2006). Others still consider G. italicum as a synonym of G. lineatum or as a subspecies (G. lineatum subsp. italicum – as follows).