Cinnamon

Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami)

This snazzy black and red insect is a relatively rare species in Britain — though you wouldn't know it from the number I've found in the garden over the past few days. It's Corizus hyoscyami, also known as the Cinnamon Bug or the Black-and-Red Squash Bug. A continental European species which established a toehold in southern England some years ago, it has recently been expanding its range fairly rapidly northwards. It's now being seen as far up as York! Like many of the so-called "true bugs", this one is a plant eater; it feeds on a wide variety of species and presumably has found plenty in our garden to munch on. Its common name is a bit of a mystery to me. Some internet sources say it smells of cinnamon, while others maintain that it's part of the "scentless plant bug" family. I didn't give it a sniff myself!