The Miridae comprise the largest family of Heteropteran bugs with over 6000 species worldwide. There are over 200 species in the British Isles and are found in practically every terrestrial habitat, from barren mountain tops to the shoreline.
The Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus rugulipennis) is a very common British insect and can easily be found in large numbers, particularly on nettles. It is a garden pest, and causes white spots on leaves whereever it feeds.
I am not sure what is happening in the photo below (left). At first I thought the darker bug on the right was preying on the Tarnished Plant Bug but on closer inspection that doesn't appear to be the case. In none of the 15 photos I took from various angles is the rostrum piercing the body of the other insect. Another possibility I thought of was that the Harpocera thoracica was attempting to mate with the Tarnished Plant Bug, since its abdomen appears to be curving back towards the abdomen of the plant bug. But that would mean this is an attempted hybrid mating as they are two different species. The last possibility that occured to me was that maybe the Harpocera bug had its abdomen curled downwards simply because it was ovipositing (similar to the female of the same species in the photo on the right) and it was just a coincidence that the Tarnished Plant Bug was underneath it.
 Harpocera thoracica (left) & Lygus rugulipennis (right) |
 Female Harpocera thoracica ovipositing |
Adult Deraeocoris ruber |
Stenodema laevigata |
The photo below is a crop of the above photo showing the fine, light brown spines on the tibia that help distinguish the green Lygocoris bugs from all other British green mirid bugs.
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