Red and black bugs

[stokies]

Does anybody know what these are and if they're are a real problem? Just over 1cm long, almost always joined together in what I take to be a mating position!

Firstly my cabbages were infested with these bugs so I used to go round at least once a day removing and destroying them. Leaves were becoming speckled yellow which may or may not have been connected to these bugs.....

Now there are fewer on the cabbages - but I notice my sunflowers have them...

It's getting really tedious this search-and-destroy thing and since we don't eat the sunflowers they bother me less than on the cabbages....

But it'd be nice to know what they are, if they are damaging crops and, if so, what to do about them.

[juliancoll]

A photo may help identify them.

[Noble]

I don't know the name of these bugs but they love living in between wooden window and exterior door frames and they also favour old wood as a habitat. When in Spring, I open the windows we do not use in winter, literally hundreds of them fall out, usually into the room. I then spray with Bayer anti bug spray (green tin) which kills them. There is a Bayer product called Decis (from a horticultural supplier) that kills them on foliage. It is sold in Italy and I think can be used on fruit and vegetables. The website for Bayer crop info. based in the UK would answer your questions. (The German HO does not respond!)

[stokies]

Thanks for this - I'll check out the site. Maybe also add a photo of said bugs to my query for other people to see the little blighters - if this rain ever stops...!!!!!

[AllanMason]

Even without a picture, I'm pretty sure I know which beetles you're talking about. They are a nusiance around here in the winter due to their efforts to find somewhere snug and dry to spend the cold months.

However - as these things usually go - I wasn't able to find one this morning when I went looking. Based on my memory of what they look like, I suspect they might be a species of Meloidae, commonly known as Blister Beetles. There are pictures here and here. I recall the ones I've seen around here looking most like the top right photo on that second page.

But the thing about beetles is that there are so many different species that it's very difficult for a non-expert to be certain of identification.

If they are Blister Beetles and worthy of their name, then it appears that there's yet another thing for people to worry about.

Given the quantities of the beetles that are around and their dramatic markings, I've always assumed there's something about them that means they are not a nice snack for birds, lizards and other small predators. So I also suspect the local species could cause some discomfort to humans if they came into contact with bare skin. But my spirit of scientific curiousity does not extend to picking up the next one I see and squishing it just to see if they do indeed create a blister.

Al

[elliven]

We get them too, natural place for hibernation seems to be rotten wood and they do tend to collect round window frames in the winter. In the vast panoply that is Italian insect life they take their place!

[stokies]

Thanks for ideas - I went out and checked today in any case - and the bugs have almost all gone!!! Maybe it was a seasonal thing... So with a bit of luck my cabbages and swedes (which were also affected) will survive!!!