Basking in the warming afternoon sun and showing off its very fine shiny colours, this is the Gorse Shieldbug Piezodorus lituratus. It must have got itself lost for it is generally associated with Gorse, but there is no Gorse in my back garden. However I am pleased it stopped by, for this is my very first ecounter with this marvellous insect.
April 2019, rear garden, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Nature Journeys 
We have loads of gorse in NZ but I don’t recall ever seeing a shieldbug with pretty colouring like that!
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We have some gorse growing in the local fields, yet I have never come across one of these bugs before. The colour changes to darker shades as it comes into autumn in preparation for the winter hibernation. Nature is so wonderful!
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Oh it is.. yes!
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This is very attractive.
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Excellent close look at the shield bug, Pete!!
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Thank you Indira 🙂
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I now remember just how well you photograph and capture the details of these tiny critters ! Well done.
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Thank you very much Ted.
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Nice. All the shield bugs I see are always a dull ugly brown or grey.
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Thank you David 🙂
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What gorgeous colouring that shielding has. It almost looks like burnished gold.
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PS I meant shieldbug (damn that autocorrect) 🙂
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Lovely macro Pete, very sharp!
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Thank you Brian. It’s nice to see these bugs as they find the sunny spots to warm themselves.
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Even better seen through the lens so we can appreciate them!
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Those once off by-chance encounters are always quite special and tend to produce the biggest grins, don’t they?
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They sure do Ark. They sure do 🙂
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The metallic effect is quite appealing.
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Thank you Linda 🙂
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I’ve seen green shield beetles (not stamps) but never any of this colouring. Pretty.
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Green Shield Stamps is a blast from the past, as I remember my Mom collecting them in a book! Showing my age now, lol!
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I have a green shield stamp set into my keyring heehee. If I had a shield bug, people would wonder.
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Lol!
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