Just had this try to climb into my ear!

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Accy cyclist

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
Looks like a type of Shield Bug. I doubt if it has much interest in ears. I hope that you put it gently outside. They can fly, if they have to.

I shook ( is that an accepted word?🤔) it off that kitchen towel. It's grass/turf outside my window, so it should've had a soft landing.:unsure:

Although I am upstairs, not downstairs.:unsure:
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Better not be a vine weevil or you can kiss goodbye to your pot plants. Bastidos these are.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
The buggers killed all out outside pot plants over a couple of years. Ended up fighting back with 'nematodes' and squishing the buggers. Nematodes (or however it is spelt) are little bugs that eat vine weevils.
 

Nibor

Bewildered
Location
Accrington
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PaulSB

Squire
There I was dozing in bed a while ago when I felt something crawling on my right ear! :ohmy: Luckily I sleep with ear plugs in, so it didn't make it. I didn't see it till I had it between my thumb and finger. I threw it across the bedroom, finding it later, hence the photo'. I dropped it out my window after taking that pic'. What is it?!🤔

View attachment 648952

It's a weevil of some sort, possibly a vine weevil but hard to be sure from that image.
 
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PaulSB

Squire
The buggers killed all out outside pot plants over a couple of years. Ended up fighting back with 'nematodes' and squishing the buggers. Nematodes (or however it is spelt) are little bugs that eat vine weevils.

It's the larvae which attack the roots potentially killing the plant, the weevil only feeds off foliage and makes a characteristic notch in the leaf edge.
 

a.twiddler

Veteran
Oh God! Must resist...I can't resist it. Here goes. If that's the lesser of two weevils, I'd hate to meet the other one. Aaah, that's better. I can't resist a weevil joke. Especially as it's a shield bug. Not that I'm an entomologist or anything.

Interestingly, (or maybe not), if it is a bronze shield bug then it's the only carnivorous UK shield bug. When young, they live off plant sap like other shield bugs but when mature they have a taste for caterpillars and other insect larve including presumably weevil larvae. So maybe they should be encouraged. As @rockyroller posted, they're also known as stink bugs as if you piss them off they exude a noxious fluid as a defence against predators. Perhaps @Accy cyclist had a lucky escape.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
It's the larvae which attack the roots potentially killing the plant, the weevil only feeds off foliage and makes a characteristic notch in the leaf edge.

That's why we went with the bio defense... new house so we didn't know what was disturbed, but we lost so many pot plants. It worked though, no issues since (25 years...)
 

PaulSB

Squire
Oh God! Must resist...I can't resist it. Here goes. If that's the lesser of two weevils, I'd hate to meet the other one. Aaah, that's better. I can't resist a weevil joke. Especially as it's a shield bug. Not that I'm an entomologist or anything.

Interestingly, (or maybe not), if it is a bronze shield bug then it's the only carnivorous UK shield bug. When young, they live off plant sap like other shield bugs but when mature they have a taste for caterpillars and other insect larve including presumably weevil larvae. So maybe they should be encouraged. As @rockyroller posted, they're also known as stink bugs as if you piss them off they exude a noxious fluid as a defence against predators. Perhaps @Accy cyclist had a lucky escape.
It isn't
 
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