More on Beetles

I was recently called by a client for whom I had carried out a survey (on a fairly new house) to say that he had found beetles in his roof space.

Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus Occidentalis),

He had spoken to a builder who said it looked to be a type of weevil, this type of call is not good for a surveyors wellbeing, and it was therefore with a sinking feeling that I set off to visit. The insects – three large specimens had been caught – were quite large and beetle like. However on closer inspection I realised that they lacked some typical beetle features and were closer in appearance to common shield bugs. Some internet research enabled positive I.D. As the Western Conifer Seed Bug (Leptoglossus Occidentalis), a member of the Hemipteran order of insects or ‘true bugs’ – family Coreidae. The insect is in fact a relative rarity – a very recent immigrant from North America, but the location, adjoining a coastal golf course, was typical habitat. The larvae feed on conifer buds and are no threat to ‘dead’ timber, and the adults were presumably seeking somewhere to hibernate. Therefore, no threat to the house – or the surveyor’s health!