Nymphomania

Ever since I first saw woundwort shieldbugs mating on the hedge woundwort, and then later spotted a little clutch of eggs, I've been waiting for the annual nymph nursery to appear. The interesting thing about woundwort shieldbugs is that the mated females lay their eggs on leaf surfaces, but after hatching the nymphs make their way to the calyces of spent flowers, where they then sit, bearing a more than passing resemblance to the seeds. Clever, eh? These are very early in their development - either first or possibly second instar; they will pass through five instars before making their final moult, and should achieve adulthood in  little over a month from now.

The extra shows another clutch of nymphs on the same plant. When I first saw them I wondered if they might simply be older woundwort shieldbugs, but their markings are significantly different, and given their proximity to their eggs I think they're also likely to be first instar nymphs, but of a different species. At the very bottom of the clutch of eggs is a split one that seems to be in the process of hatching. I spent part of this evening searching for a match to these markings, and I've also sought an identification in the relevant Facebook group, but without success. My best guess - based on my experience of watching the types of shieldbug that use this plant, plus the fact that the nymphs are obviously hairy - is that they're hairy shieldbug (or sloe bug) nymphs. But only time will tell.

Edit: when I posted photos of the second group of nymphs to iRecord, they were confirmed as being hairy shieldbugs (Dolycoris baccarum).