Four-spotted Leaf-beetle

After several days of fieldwork I thought I deserved some quiet time with my camera, so after dealing with some of the boring everyday tasks, I spent a few hours mooching around Bedford Purlieus NNR looking for butterflies. 


I had sightings of uncooperative White Admiral gliding high in the trees and a tricksy White-letter Hairstreak that insisted on hiding among the grass, but missed out completely on Silver-washed Fritillary, despite meeting another photographer who said they'd been almost throwing themselves at him earlier in the day. 


But I was very pleased to find a single Four-spotted Leaf Beetle, a rather local species whose larvae live in the nests of Wood Ants.