Picasso bug
The Picasso bug looks like a tiny painting. Its round green back is covered in bright rings and spots, like art by a famous painter. Those bold colours tell hungry birds: do not eat me.
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Fun facts
It has eleven ring-shaped spots on the big shield that covers its back.
When it is bothered, it lets out a nasty smell to make enemies go away.
Its babies are creamy white with black stripes and dots. They only get their bright colourful spots when they grow up.
From egg to grown-up takes about 56 days.
The mother lays her eggs on the underside of leaves, where they are hidden.
Most asked questions about Picasso bug
?Why is it called the Picasso bug?
Because its colourful rings and spots look like a modern painting, like the art of Pablo Picasso.
?Is the Picasso bug dangerous?
No. It cannot hurt you, but it can make a bad smell if you bother it.
?How big is a Picasso bug?
It grows to about 1,5 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Sphaerocoris annulus
- Group
- True bugs and cicadas
- Family
- Scutelleridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hemiptera > Scutelleridae
- Lives on
- Africa
- Also known as
- Zulu hud bug
Where the facts come from
- Sphaerocoris annulus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Alandmanson. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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