Bug FAQEuropean Striped Shield Bug
Graphosoma italicum · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Pentatomidae
Also called: Italian Minstrel Bug, Italian Striped Bug, Italian Striped Shield Bug
The bug is 8 to 12 mm long and has a red back with wide black stripes; its legs are mostly black. It lives on warm, open to partly shady slopes and meadows across the Mediterranean and western Palearctic. Similar species can be told apart by orange legs or interrupted band patterns.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper side is red with broad black stripes, and the legs are mostly black.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 8 to 12 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers warm, south-facing slopes and meadows, in open to half-shady areas ranging from dry to more humid sites.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its distribution covers the Western Palearctic and the whole Mediterranean region, with a variable northern limit.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Graphosoma lineatum has orange legs, while Graphosoma semipunctatum also has orange legs and broken red-black bands on the pronotum.
Source: Wikipedia
Questions people ask
How can I tell this bug apart from similar species?
Look at the leg colour: this species has mostly black legs, while the look-alikes have orange legs; also check the pronotum pattern.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Pentatomidae)
Brown Marmorated Stink BugHalyomorpha halysDamages trees, gardens or crops
Green Stink BugChinavia hilarisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Harlequin BugMurgantia histrionicaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Brown Stink BugEuschistus servusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Green Shield BugPalomena prasina
Southern Green Stink BugNezara viridulaSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphosoma_italicum
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.