Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale...!

I'm taking advantage of the beautiful Autumn sunshine and have been pottering around the garden. There are loads of spiders sitting on their webs in the sunshine, but this little bug caught my eye.

This could be a hawthorn shield bug or sloe bug (there are many different types in my British Wildlife book). Whatever he is, he was sitting on a leaf while I took a picture of the berrires, and I didn't even see him until I looked at the photos on my computer. So I went out and took a few more shots to get more detail.

Apparently they are also called "stink bugs", as they may release unpleasant odours when disturbed...so I'll leave him in peace to get on with whatever he is doing.

Have a great weekend.