Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina)

The Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina) is one of those insects that hides a quiet trick in plain sight - bright green through spring and summer, it shifts to bronze or brown as winter approaches, a subtle seasonal costume change that most people never notice.

Green Shield Bugs feed on a wide range of plants, using their piercing mouthparts to tap into the sap of leaves, buds, and developing fruits. They are particularly fond of beans, raspberries, and hazelnuts, though they rarely cause significant damage to garden crops. Like most shield bugs, they communicate through substrate-borne vibrations - low-frequency signals transmitted through the plant stems on which they sit, inaudible to us but an essential part of their courtship and territorial behaviour.

Shield bugs are sometimes called stink bugs for good reason. When disturbed, the Green Shield Bug releases a pungent liquid from glands on its thorax - a chemical cocktail of aldehydes that tastes unpleasant and deters most predators. The smell lingers on hands and clothing, which may partly explain why these abundant insects are admired at a distance more often than they are closely examined. Their simple, geometric form and seasonal colour change make them one of the most quietly elegant insects in any European garden.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

Full delivery information →

Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

Full returns policy →