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Deraeocoris flavilinea
Family: Miridae

 A species which has rapidly colonised the UK following its arrival in 1996, and is now widely established and common across south and central Britain at least. The host-plants are sycamore and field maple, although it may frequently be encountered on other trees and shrubs.

D. flavilinea is a large and fairly distinctive bug, but sexually dimorphic and thus rather variable. Males are much darker than the more orange females, and the front and rear margins of the pronotum are narrowly pale. The cuneus is variable and the sides of the scutellum paler in both sexes.

The tibial banding pattern is shared by D. olivaceus, which is brick red in colour, similar to female flavilinea. However, this uncommon species is larger, has long hairs on the sides of the pronotum and is associated with hawthorn.

Adult: June-July
Length 7-8 mm
 Deraeocoris flavilinea
Adult male: Leics (July 2009) ©David Gould
Deraeocoris flavilinea Deraeocoris flavilinea
Adult male: south London (June 2007) ©Joe Botting

 		Adult male: Leics (June 2008) ©David Gould
Deraeocoris flavilinea Deraeocoris flavilinea
Adult female: north London (June 2008) ©Tristan Bantock

 		Adult female: Berks (June 2009) ©Jonathan Michaelson
Deraeocoris flavilinea Deraeocoris flavilinea nymph
Adult female: Notts (June 2007) ©Jerry Clough

 Nymph: north London (May 2009) ©Tristan Bantock
Deraeocoris flavilinea nymph
Nymph: Berks (May 2009) ©Jonathan Michaelson