Dolycoris baccarum

Another unexpected delight from planting various native species and allowing our garden to 'rewild' itself a little: we had no idea what kind of shield bug this was when Mrs Catspaw found it on some grass by the washing drier earlier this afternoon.

It turned out to be a 'Sloe Bug' or 'Hairy Shieldbug' (Dolycoris baccarum), and would seem to have been attracted into our garden by the Sloe (i.e. Blackthorn) bushes we planted a few years ago as part of a hedge along one side of the garden.