by Greg Mayer

As Jerry is about to, or has just completed, a trip from Europe over the Atlantic to North America, I thought I’d share a photo of a fellow traveler– this hemipteran, or “true bug”, that arrived today at a furniture store in Racine, Wisconsin, in a shipment of furniture from Norway.

Although many people call all insects (and other small creatures) “bugs”, only insects of the order Hemiptera are called “bugs” by entomologists, and hence are often distinguished from hoi polloi bugs as “true bugs”. Introduced organisms of all kinds– gypsy moths, rabbits, cane toads, brown snakes, goats, etc.– can cause ecological havoc, and some, such as the zebra mussel, have, like this bug, hitched a ride on commercial shipments. I’ve seen lizards, frogs, snails, and ants that have arrived in nursery shipments. Our little friend above, however, will cause no havoc– he has been corralled, and is wending his way to me, for handing over to my department’s entomologist

Once it’s here, she’ll want to identify it, but as a Norwegian species, our local keys and ID guides might not get much past family-level identification. Are there any Norwegian or other European readers with an expertise in insects who would care to venture an identification? Please let us know in the comments.