The heteropteran fauna in three apple orchards in Kent and East Sussex, England was surveyed in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. As a result of intensive sampling, a total of 104 species were recorded. Ninety species were recorded in an experimental apple orchard at East Malling Research, Kent, which had replicated plots subject to different pesticide management regimes, while 43 and 38 species were recorded in two commercial organic apple orchards near Marden, Kent and Robertsbridge, East Sussex, respectively. In the canopy layer the abundant species, in decreasing order of their relative abundance, were Orius vicinus, Atractotomus mali, Anthocoris nemorum, Heterotoma planicornis, Phytocoris reuteri, Lygus rugulipennis, Phytocoris longipennis, Palomena prasina, Orthotylus marginalis, Blepharidopterus angulatus and Deraeocoris ruber . These 11 species comprised at least 80% of the total Heteroptera abundance in the canopy in each apple orchard. The composition of bug communities differed between years and between the plots subject to different insecticide regimes in the experimental orchard at East Malling. However, these differences were exceeded by the characteristic differences in species composition and relative abundances between the three different orchards.