Hawthorn Shield Bug

It's amazing where blipping leads you. I popped out to take a quick blip of the berries on our cotoneaster this morning, but spotted a couple of bugs on the leaves. One thing led to another - first I went for the tripod and my makeshift macro lens (see here). But it was too breezy and the branch was wobbling (no good for macros) so I got a cane to stabilise the branch. Still too windy, got 2 more canes to make a tripod...an hour and a half later I had a little portfolio of photos.

Then I had to decide which to blip - Mmmm - I chose this one in the end with the help of my longsuffering wife & son as critics. The rest are on Flickr here.

I had to ask Professor Google exactly what they are: they are Hawthorn Shield Bugs. This one is a "mid instar nymph" stage - ie a "teenager" I suppose (which is probably why it was reluctant to stay still for the photo!); there's one adult one in the Flickr album.

Best viewed large.