Not everyone's friend...

I was talking to my neighbor the other day admiring her Snake head fritillary plants when I noticed this little beauty sitting on one of the stems. As she was less than impressed I took him home, and will release him in the forest where he can't cause any trouble, and hopefully won't get squashed by an angry gardener.
The Red or scarlet lily beetle Lilioceris lilii, is a little beetle ~ 8mm long, bright red with black head and legs. It became established in Surrey in 1939, and remained confined to the South east of England until the late 1980's. It is now widespread throughout England and Wales, and is making inroads into Scotland and Ireland.
It damages lilies (Lilium and Cardiocrinum spp and hybrids) and Fritillaries (Fritillaria spp) by defoliation, and is a major headache for gardeners.
Personally I quite like these little beetles and find it impossible to justify squashing them......but I am really not that much of a gardener.
For the picture it is sitting on Garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata, a biennial flowering plant of the Brassicaceae family also known as Jack-by-the-hedge. It is a common hedgerow plant in spring often growing in large clumps. It is pollinated by various insect species, and one of the foodplants of the Orange Tip butterfly.