I'm in the process of cutting back the shrubbery. It's an annual task that used to take me one day but now takes closer to three. (That's because the shrubs are bigger, not because I'm older and weaker).
When you reach above your head with a hedge trimmer and cut into conifer, the trimmings tend to get everywhere, with a goodly portion finding their way down the neck of your shirt. once there they itch and prickle a bit, but you ignore them until you take a break, at which point you slip your shirt off and shake everything out.
Every so often, say once in a thousand times, the itch and prickle that you feel isn't caused by conifer trimmings, but by one of these.
| Click to see full-size image. |
They really do make you jump when they bite, but until your bitten, there's nothing you can do about them. You can't stop cutting every time something falls down your neck so your stuck with them. When you peel one from your skin, you always end up with smelly fingers.
For years I've called the conifer bugs but today I looked them up. Guess what they're called? Green Stink Bugs. I shit you not. Green Stink Bugs. It makes then seem even more awful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_stink_bug
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