Greater Streaked Shieldbug (Odontoscelis fuliginosa)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true bug (Hemiptera) > Shield bug or ally |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Odontoscelis (Odontoscelis) fuliginosa |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1761) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Bantock, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This species has a just single English stronghold in the Sandwich Bay/Deal area of Kent, where it has survived extensive conversion of dune habitat to golf courses and the population is largely confined to a narrow zone of low-eroded sandhills behind the beach. Although O. fuliginosa has declined historically in England, there are no immediate threats to this population and the species is almost annually recorded by visiting entomologists. In 2014 a specimen was found on the north Kent coast close to Reculver, indicating the possibility of a new population, although there have been no subsequent records from this area. Recent records from Penhale Sands in Cornwall cannot be unambiguously confirmed as this species, which is similar to be closely related O. lineola. O. fuliginosa is common and widespread in continental Europe and is presumably temperature limited in Britain. It is a possible candidate for range expansion in response to climate change. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The species is strongly associated with Erodium growing in early-successional habitats on dry sandy soils and at a landscape scale, is a species that would benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase early successional habitat mosaics |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The species is strongly associated with Erodium growing in early-successional habitats on dry sandy soils and at a landscape scale, is a species that would benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase early successional habitat mosaics |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Experimental reintroduction to a suitable site in southern England, supporting a continuity of disturbed sandy open field conditions with extensive Erodium. Dungeness might be such a location, in particular areas close to the Bird Observatory and old ARC pits.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Dungeness
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.