Dock bug

This little creature helped me out today, on a day with little available time for photography. I had brought back a plant specimen form Suffolk to identify, and this dock bug Coreus marginatus was hiding among the leaves.It escaped into the kitchen and promptly disappeared! This morning it turned up on a door frame. I took it out into the garden and found a nice juicy dock for it to live on - here it's just settling in

This species may be mistaken for a shield-bug, but's actually a squash bug, having a broad, oval abdomen with a crenated flange around the margin. The two small projections between the antennae (which can just be seen in large) are diagnostic. It's a very common species in southern Britain, with just one generation per year, adults mating and laying eggs in spring. The nymphs feed on dock and other related plants and new adults may be found from August onwards.

The rest of the day was spent on a site visit near Didcot - although I only briefly got a glimpse of the iconic cooling towers! I met up with my colleague at Huntingdon station, and had the luxury of being chauffeured for the day. We hadn't met up for a while, but five hours in a car provided plenty of opportunity for discussion! I was shattered when I got home :)