Tortoise Bug

Eurygaster testudinaria · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Scutelleridae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. It feeds on grasses, so it can damage cereal crops and pasture grasses.

Source: Wikipedia

Tortoise Bug
Photo: Paul Cook, CC BY

Eurygaster testudinaria is a shield bug found across Europe and into northern Asia. It looks much like Eurygaster maura but has a small dip in the front of its head. It feeds on grasses, which can make it a pest of cereal and pasture crops.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It feeds on grasses (family Poaceae).

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It lives from the northern Mediterranean up through southern Scandinavia and east across Central Asia to northern China and Japan.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It is very hard to separate from the similar species Eurygaster maura.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Tortoise Bug photo 3
Photo: Paul Cook, CC BY

Questions people ask

Is it a problem for crops?

Yes, because it feeds on grasses, it can damage cereal and pasture crops.

Source: Wikipedia

How can I tell it apart from Eurygaster maura?

Look for a small central depression on the front of the head; that feature belongs to Eurygaster testudinaria.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Scutelleridae)

Hibiscus Harlequin BugHibiscus Harlequin BugTectocoris diophthalmusDamages trees, gardens or cropsOcellated shield bugOcellated shield bugCantao ocellatusDamages trees, gardens or cropsEuropean Tortoise BugEuropean Tortoise BugEurygaster mauraDamages trees, gardens or cropsMetallic Shield BugMetallic Shield BugScutiphora pedicellataGreen Jewel BugGreen Jewel BugLampromicra senator

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurygaster_testudinaria

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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