Shield Bug.

The flowers in V's boot (see blip dated 3 Nov 2012) are beginning to show through so she suggested I use them for today's blip. It was so windy outside that I decided to bring them into the house to photograph them.

We set the boot up on a table and as I was about to take a shot, this little fellow showed himself. He must have come inside with the boot. Regrettably I had to use a flash gun to capture him which accounts for the shiny carapace.

I'm pretty sure it's a shield bug, probably a Birch Shield Bug as we have plenty of birch trees in the vicinity.