When you’re a bright red beetle, you’re probably trying to convince any potential predators that you taste so foul you’re not worth eating but it also means that it’s hard to hide from inquisitive humans, like me, especially when you’re sitting in plain sight on Alexanders flowers.

The gardeners amongst my readers may recognise this beetle and, if you grow lilies, you may have seen a beetle like this nibbling on the leaves of your lilies, hence its name: Lily beetle. The Naturespot website calls this insect Scarlet lily beetle but, when I recorded it, the insect’s name came up simply as Lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii).

As I don’t have a garden and don’t often visit ornamental gardens, the Lily beetle shown here was only my second ever sighting of this vibrant beetle in ten years of staring at plants. This is not particularly surprising though, as I’ve just been reading that this species only came to Britain in the early 1900s, presumably imported on lily plants, but, in the century since, it has managed to spread throughout Britain. That’s an impressive achievement for a beetle that’s only 10mm long.