Thursday November 12
Moth traps frequently attract other insects. yesterday morning, we found a bug we'd never seen before not a surprise). i thought itr was a shield bug sp. from shape etc but with long antennae and legs. I couldn't identify it from the web and Pam couldn't find it in her book. We potted it and took it to mothing at Cley this morning where it caused a small sensation. To Andy, our beetle expert in particular as it was the first he'd seen.
It is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, a non native species originating in western USA and an alien invader.
It was first detected in Britain in 2007, when a single adult was found in a classroom at Weymouth College, Dorset. In the late summer of 2008. In the UK, the majority of records have been of adults observed at light traps
along the south coast of England, clearly indicating a large migration across the
English Channel
Probably the third for Norfolk.
Although recent arrivals, Western Conifer Seed Bugs have spread quickly throughout Norfolk in recent years. I saw my first one near Norwich in 2011, and they have been recorded in about half of Norfolk 10km squares by the look of it: https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NHMSYS0020476639/Grid_Map
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