what is it

[submariner]

I have a stand of about 15ft, of Poppy Orientalis, of all colours.(Mary's favorite flower) When doing one of my groggly squashing rounds (rather squash than poison) I saw an orange coloured groggly, about 3/4" long, with brown wings, folded back to look like a shell. Any ideas please. I did not squash it, because it might be a goodie.

[Carole B.]

Firstly..whats a groggly? I thought you were talking about mallyshags until you described one with wings!
I've no idea what the one you describe is but why do you need to go round squashing them? If they're not decimating a crop why not just leave them?
A wide and varied insect life in your garden will give you a wide and varied array of butterflies,moths,birds,bats etc.
Go on,give it a try!

[submariner]

Sorry, a grogglie is a bug. Jargon in the household!
If you read the post, I did say that I did not squash it because it might be a goodie. I only squash what I know is a pest.
Once again, please, I saw an orange coloured bug with brown wings, about 3/4" long. Does any one know what it is?

[Geoff]

Difficult. Sounds like Click Beetle (over 7,000 species) or Soldier Beetle (3,000) or wood boring Hylecoetus or Longhorn Phymatodes if it is longish but there are also some roundish ones with that colouring. If you want to have bug nightmares get a copy of Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe by Michael Chinery – here’s the Click Beetle page (not sure how well it will load).