Rare Bug Rediscovered in Scotland After 30 Years, The Eighth Sighting Ever Recorded

A rare bug that was last recorded 30 years ago was rediscovered in a woodland in Scotland by a field worker from the Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms partnership project.

According to BBC News, the discovery of the cow wheat shieldbug is only the eighth time ever recorded, with previous sightings recorded in Perthshire in 1879, Argyll and Bute in 1890, and Loch Rannoch in 1989.

This rare insect has a black body with two distinctive white spots. Due to its rarity, scientists said that the cow wheat shieldbug is nationally scarce in the United Kingdom. They said that there had been worrying declines in the bug's population in the southeastern part of England in the past years.

Traditional Woodland Management Caused the Decline of Rare Bugs

According to Genevieve Tompkins, who found the bug, volunteers who help in their project come across other rare insects while looking for focus species. RSPB Scotland announced the bug's rediscovery in their Twitter account.

Tompkins noted that even though insects are highly under-recorded, they still give important clues as to the health of their habitats, Yahoo! News reported.

Unfortunately, the cow wheat shieldbug has suffered worrying declines in the past years due to traditional woodland management. But experts believe there is still hope for these bugs with the diverse woodlands slowly becoming a key feature again of the Cairngorms National Park.

"It is sad that this bug has suffered from a decline in traditional woodland management," she said. "However, there is hope, with diverse woodlands once more becoming a key feature of the Cairngorms National Park.

Deadline News reported that those who happen to find cow wheat shieldbugs may report their sighting to the iRecord website.

Rare Cow Wheat Shieldbug

Cow wheat shieldbug or scientifically known as Adomerus biguttatus is a medium-sized shiny black rare insect that has a pale margin to the pronotum and forewings, according to the website British Bugs. Also, one of its main features is the two pale spots on their corium or the thick, leathery, basal portion of their forewing.

As their name suggests, these bugs typically rely on cow wheat as a food plant. They grow in sunny woodland clearings and would only produce one generation of bugs each year, wherein the new generation becomes an adult in August. This perhaps is one of the reasons why they are scarce in the country.

Additionally, these cow wheat shieldbugs are scattered across England and Wales. But the decline in their population is mostly because of the widespread neglect of traditional woodland management practices as what Tompkins said. These practices destroy the bug's habitats because it creates cleared areas.

The last sighting of these rare bugs before the recent sighting this year has been in Strathspey in the year 1989 in Loch Rannoch.

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