Finally ...a fire bug!

Last year I was alerted to a colony of Fire bugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) beside the main road in Sompting West Sussex. I went to investigate and found a few of these striking little plant bugs including a mating pair.
Today I decided to go and see if I could find them again, and there were loads!! I counted at least 50, with no less than 5 mating pairs! and that was just as I walked along the road.
This is really nice to see, not only as we have had an exceptionally cold spring, but also because they are extending their range, until recently they could only be found in one or two locations in the west country.
Today's blip shows one of these really striking little bugs sitting on a mallow leaf.