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Hi,

Just wodering if anyone can identify this bug which came home
with us from the allotment the other day!

With markings like that, it should be a doddle to identify - but I can't find anything like it! Can you give us a bit more info - like how big it is, what kind of plants you have around your allotment, and its precise date of birth? (Joke, that last one).

Mike

It tends to like brussel sprouts and its size is about 1cm ish long, no visible mandibles, def no wings,
size wise like a fly I guess and its tail end could bend downward as if to lay eggs maybe?

three sections to its body, head middle and rear. six legs and the there are 16 yellow "staman" on its back for lack of a better word.
5 either side and 6 in the middle, and it (bit?) my husband on the arm which woke him up.

doesn't walk very quick.

Wow! Sorry I can't help with the ID but I will be interested if you find out what it is.

I can see what you mean, but I don't think so. I wish there was a clearer photo, but it looks to have a narrow thorax and a wide head - so more beetle than bug. The nearest I can get at the moment is a type of Dor beetle or Sexton beetle - it has the right shape. And that "it bit him on the arm" statement indicates a pretty powerful set of mandibles, even if they weren't easily visible. Bugs are (mainly) piercers and suckers. Unless, of course, that's a thorax with a line across it and the head is actually tucked down out of the way ...

However, I still don't know.

Mike

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback, my sister in law has loads of bug books and thinks she has it identified it as a Harlequin Ladbird Larvae

google "Harlequin Ladbird Larvae" for pics and info.

I think she's probably right, although there are still slight differences such as the length and colour of the spikey bits.
Apparently its a foreign invader and will eat green fly but also the other ladybird larvae etc.
Gonna have to go kill a few now!

Yes - she's got it. The clue was in reading what you actually wrote when you described the yellow markings as stamen - I've been looking for something with flat markings .

Ah well - at least I got as far as beetle.

Mike

Yes it looks flat in the photo - was hard to really see it properly. Glad you have it sussed out!

Hey guys,

Def ladybird larvae though not necessarily harlequin, they look quite similar in larval stages. Good news if you found that near your veg patch!

Gem aka bug lady (though admittedly am more a fresh water bug lady)

Oddly enough I've just been photographing ladybird lavae - harlequins included. The ones I was photographing were more elongated though but there are many variations. Loads of them on some tree trunk chainsaw sculptures in the park across from my mum's house. Why not send the image to the harlequin ladybird people and ask them for id. http://www.harlequin-survey.org/default.htm