Berries and Bugs

                                                       Spindle Tree (Euonymus europaea?)

There is something irresistible about bright Autumn mornings, and I've been lucky enough to be able to spend the last few at The Reserve. I find them better than porridge for fuelling up for busy afternoons....

This morning I remembered to take the camera.
I'd noticed the little pink berries of the Spindle Tree on the Butterfly Bank and wanted to capture them digitally before they became a bird's breakfast. I'm fascinated by the way the orange seeds are exposed!

Pictures taken, I turned round to retrieve my bag from where I'd left it open. As I did, I noticed a wood mouse sitting up on it's haunches and eyeing the contents which had spilled onto the grass.
Wood mice have very beady eyes, and it was an extremely endearing pose!
I didn't shout: 'Oi, geroff...' in case I could get a shot of it, and anyway, I'm fond of  rodents and would quite happily have shared my food in return for that photo opportunity.

But it wasn't to be - by the time I'd raised my camera, this largish insect had landed on the lens...

It was much larger than a frog-hopper and much more narrow than a shield bug, and very unconcerned when I moved it onto my finger.

I haven't identified it yet - if you, dear reader, can, then do please leave a comment for me underneath here!
In the meantime I'll send the picture to BMERC with time and place of discovery.....