Subject: Red beetle
Location: Ayora, Valencia, Spain
September 10, 2015 5:15 am
Please can you tell me about this bug, we now have thousands of them around our fruit and veg plants. The plants are not doing very well.
Signature: JANET
Mating Firebugs
Dear JANET,
These are Firebugs, Pyrrhocoris apterus, and though you have cropped out one individual in your image, you have captured a mating pair, which helps to explain the large aggregation you are experiencing. See NatureWatch where it states: “They are frequently observed to form aggregations, especially as immature forms, with from tens to perhaps a hundred individuals.”
Wow, Big thank you Daniel for getting back to me with an answer to “what is my Bug?” So quickly. I had spent many hours looking on the internet trying to identify my growing population of red bugs, with no joy. At least now, I know, it is not a beetle and I am sure it is what is eating all my fruits and veg. Regards Janet
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