Tessaratomid Giant Shield Bug vs Elegant Brown Lacewing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tessaratomid Giant Shield Bug Elegant Brown Lacewing
Scientific Name Tessaratoma papillosa Sympherobius elegans
Order Hemiptera Neuroptera
Family Tessaratomidae Hemerobiidae
Size 25-30 mm 5-8 mm wingspan
Habitat Orchards Orchards
Diet Sap Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions South and Southeast Asia, China Europe, North Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Tessaratomid Giant Shield Bug

A very large, robust shield bug that is a serious pest of lychee and longan trees in Asia. Adults are yellowish-brown and can spray a caustic defensive fluid. It is one of the largest true bugs in the Hemiptera order.

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Did You Know?

It can spray a caustic chemical from its thoracic glands that causes intense burning pain and temporary blindness if it contacts the eyes of a predator or person.

Elegant Brown Lacewing

A tiny, delicate brown lacewing found in bark crevices of broadleaved trees. One of the smallest hemerobiid species in Europe.

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Did You Know?

At barely 5 mm wingspan, it is small enough to hunt insects living inside bark fissures.