Autumnal

Though it was sunny, it was bitterly cold in Trench Wood this morning, and I was glad of the gilet I'd thrown in the car before setting off. The bright sunshine brought quite a few invertebrates from their roosts to bask and warm up, but made it tricky to control the contrast and get good photos. Nonetheless I'm pleased I went, because by this point in the year the invertebrate window is narrowing, and I need to seize every opportunity I can to get out among my favourite mini-beasts.

I spotted this Gorse Shieldbug on an oak sapling some distance away from the spot where I photographed one two weeks ago. It's not outwith the bounds of possibility that it's the same bug - they can fly, after all, and the differences in appearance could easily be ascribed to pre-hibernation darkening and a different shooting angle - but for what it's worth my instinct is that this is a second individual. I certainly hope I'm right, because while one specimen could easily be a lone wanderer, two would suggest a resident family. Only time will tell.

I have a few other images to post to my Facebook page in due course, but I've chosen this one for my blip because I'm impressed by the way the bug was managing to blend with the oak leaf on which it was resting. Seen in reasonable close-up like this it stands out, but in the field it blended in so well that I almost walked right past it.