Bugs

All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.

Insects in the order Hemiptera are the 'true bugs'. They are unique amongst insects in having their mouthparts formed into a piercing beak or 'rostrum', used to suck juices from plants or other animals. Their life cycles do not have a larval and pupal stage; instead, juvenile bugs have a series of nymph-stages or 'instars', which progressively have more adult-like characteristics. Hemiptera are divided into distinct sub-orders:

Heteroptera include the shield-bugs, plant bugs, ground bugs, water bugs and allied families. These have a thickened and opaque basal part to their forewings, with a transparent outer part.
Auchenorrhyncha are the leafhoppers, planthoppers, cicadas and allies. Some authorities divide this into two separate sub-orders: Cicadamorpha and Fulgoromorpha. Many have enlarged back legs and can jump.
Sternorrhyncha are aphids, psyllids and allies.

Identification help

Facebook group: UK Hemiptera

Facebook group: Aphids, Psyllids, Scales & allies (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha)

Leicestershire and Rutland resources (click to expand)

LESOPS 27 - A Two Year Study of Water Bugs at Priory Water, Leicestershire - (2011) Tony Cook, Frank Clark
LESOPS 63 - VC55 Terrestrial Heteroptera. Part 1: Recorders and Recording (2024) Sue Timms, Kate Nightingale & Alan Cann
LESOPS 64 - VC55 Terrestrial Heteroptera. Part 2: Provisional Checklist (2024) Sue Timms, Kate Nightingale & Alan Cann
LESOPS 67 - Checklist of aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera in VC55 (2025) Sue Timms, Kate Nightingale & Alan Cann

Other useful websites and publication (click to expand)

The British Bugs web site is one of the best of all online wildlife guides. If you are unsure which part of the insect the description refers to, see https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/bug_bits.html
UK Shield Bugs Yahoo Forum - it is free to join then you can access the photo library and ask for identification help.
Identifying common British aphids - very useful photo guide with excellent ID information.
Video: Introduction to UK True Bugs from The Tanyptera Project.
LRES video: Water bugs and their allies
Aquatic Heteroptera Recording Scheme website: https://aquaticbugs.com
The Influential Points website is an excellent source of information about aphids https://influentialpoints.com/