Box Bug vs Honey Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Box Bug Honey Bee
Scientific Name Gonocerus acuteangulatus Apis mellifera
Order Hemiptera Hymenoptera
Family Coreidae Apidae
Size 11-14 mm 12-15 mm
Habitat Heathland Heathland
Diet Fruit Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe Worldwide
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Box Bug

A slender, reddish-brown coreid bug historically restricted to box trees in southern England but now expanding its range northward. It feeds on developing fruits and seeds of box and hawthorn.

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Did You Know?

Once Britain's rarest shieldbug confined to a single box woodland, it has expanded dramatically northward since 2000 due to warming temperatures.

Honey Bee

The worlds most important pollinator. Lives in complex colonies of up to 80,000 individuals with a single queen. Communicates food locations through the waggle dance.

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Did You Know?

A honey bee must visit about 2 million flowers and fly over 88,000 km — equivalent to circling the Earth twice — to produce just one pound of honey.