Glaucias amyoti
This shield bug was out at night on kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium) in January. Initially I thought it might be a later stage of the soldier bug nymphs photographed in November, but it is the fifth and final instar nymph of a green shield bug which is native to the North Island and upper South, also being found in Australia and a bit further afield too.
A shield bug on kohuhu needs a bit of thought, as there is also a similar one which uses only Pittosporum as hosts. This was all sorted out in minutes on iNaturalist and in a nice article by N A Martin at Landcare.
The 5th instar shows developing wing buds- the downward continuations of the upper greenish area. There are several generations a year and nymphs of all sizes can be seen in the same spring or summer month. The very same host shrub also had several groups of first-instar nymphs clustered next to their egg cases:
You can see the splits in the egg cases that the nymphs hatched from (14 out of 14). This is a very common and underappreciated insect, like the others in this series of posts. I bet they are in your garden if you are within their range, but check the differences between them and the pest green vegetable bug and potato bug.
Love the pik of 14 eggshells and 14 nymphs!
Said to be the maximum number they lay at one go.