Pick of the bugs

摘要

Things called bugs aren't always popular; especially if they're known as stink-bugs. But entomologist Richard Jones thinks shieldbugs, as they're properly called, are beautiful, charming and even funny. Here's why. Every group of insects has its champions, those familiar flagship species. Among the ranks of drab, night-flying moths are sunshine-loving butterflies. Among scuttling hordes of beetles are ladybirds, spotted and bright. Among sinister swarms of ants, wasps and bees are bumblebees, fluffyand full of earnest activity. And among the secretive green and brown plant-bugs are shieldbugs, brightly coloured creatures which ought to be the champions of this group but somehow aren't. Why?