Harpocera thoracica

Length about 6 mm. A handsome bug. The sexes are dimorphic and very different in appearance; males are more elongate in shape, with longer tibiae and a distinctive inflated 2nd antennal segment.

Favouring Oak.

Adult: May-June.

Adults appear in the spring and are short-lived (particularly males), the species spending almost all the year in the egg stage and larval development taking only 2 weeks. The reddish nymphs are covered in dark hairs and the two basal antennal segments are thickened. Males are attracted to UV light and may be found in moth traps.

Very common throughout Britain.

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland.