Common

This is the prime season for Common Red Soldier Beetles, though you can find the adults at any time between June and September, and because copulation is a protracted affair, this is the activity in which you most commonly see them engaged. Tilly's field is full of them at the moment, so finding a pair in cop took just seconds; getting a decent angle on their nuptials was trickier, because the grass was blowing around and other stalks kept intruding on the scene, but though I didn't quite manage the profile view I was after, I think this gives you a decent idea of what they were up to.

In this species both the larvae and adults are predatory, though the adults will also feed on nectar and pollen. Most sources state that the adults take other, smaller insects, but Wikipedia has a couple of rather grim images of one attacking a Cinnabar moth caterpillar. Being eaten alive by something considerably smaller than yourself adds insult to injury, in my opinion.

There's more about this commonest of beetles here, if you'd like some more technical information.

Before I go, I almost forgot to say how pleased I am to have a couple of images in next year's Worcestershire Wildlife Trust calendar. This plumpie will be Mr April, and this Banded Demoiselle (quite an old photo now, but still a favourite) will be in the sidebar in July. Because I hardly ever enter competitions these days I'm especially invested in the couple of fundraising calendars for which I do submit entries, and it's pleasing to know that those photos will help to raise funds for local conservation work.

R: C3, D5.