German cousins

The striking firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus is very rare in the UK, known since at least 1865 from one Devon offshore islet site only, near Torquay, a Devon speciality. But it's common on the continent, here hitching a ride on my wrist at the Olympic stadium in Munich, where I was visiting last week.

Bug o'clock (photo: C. Kurz)

It feeds on tree mallow, especially the seeds, and on lime trees. 'apterus' means without wings, and is the distinguishing feature from other red and black bugs; it perhaps suggests why it hasn't been able to colonise the mainland yet, or since 1865.

For more information about Devon bugs, see Keith Alexander's excellent mini-article, from which some of the details above have been taken (link here - uploads Word document directly).