About Corizus hyoscyami (Linnaeus, 1758)
Adults of Corizus hyoscyami reach approximately 9 millimetres (0.35 inches) in length. Like all scentless plant bugs, this species lacks well-developed scent glands, and can be identified by the numerous veins on the hemelytra membrane, a characteristic shared by all members of the Rhopalidae family. For the nominate subspecies Corizus hyoscyami hyoscyami, the third and fourth abdominal tergites are red, while in the subspecies Corizus hyoscyami nigridorsum, these tergites are completely black. The colours of the dorsum are visible through the transparency of the elytra under the membrane. Despite its distinctive striking colouration, Corizus hyoscyami can be confused with the similarly patterned but unrelated firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus. Corizus hyoscyami subs. hyoscyami is distributed across most of Europe; in Britain, this subspecies is recorded as spreading northward, and has been found in Yorkshire. Corizus hyoscyami subs. nigridorsum occurs in Spain, Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia.
