I'm Boxing Clever, Not Obtuse
I've been keeping an eye on four eggs on an ivy leaf in the front hedge. When I checked this evening two very tiny bugs were next to them. One was orange and green and the other dark brown and green. If you look closely at the eggs, two appear yellow, possibly empty and two yellow with orange streaks, possibly still to hatch. My theory is that that the orange bug is very freshly emerged and the brown one a bit more mature.
Though tiny, they have a bit of a dock bug look about them. I'm delighted that I think I've identified them correctly as nymphs of the Box bug, Gonocerus acuteangulatus. (Love the name.) Historically very rare and known only from Box Hill in Surrey, where it feeds on Box trees, this bug is expanding its range and now occurs widely in the south-east of England and beyond. It is exploiting different foodplants, and has been found on hawthorn, buckthorn, yew and plum trees.
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