This is the Cinnamon Bug. There are three similar black & red bugs – the Plane Tree Bug and the Fire Bug – but the Cinnamon Bug has a kite-mark V on its back topped with two little heart-shapes and the two polka dots below. The others have distinct and different markings.
They like dry habitats and this one was found on the bank (Vole County) which leads down to the watermeadow and is home to several grasses and wildflowers. They feed on a variety of plants. They are currently mostly found in south-east England but are becoming more common throughout.
I had never noticed this beetle before. He looks as though he is made of metal, like an old-fashioned Matchbox car. He is a Thick-legged Flower Beetle, and I can be confident that he is a male, because only the males have the swollen legs, which look like two tiny Christmas baubles. This beetle is a pollinator of meadow flowers, feeding on pollen and nectar, and I spotted him on the bank of the watermeadow. Adults lay eggs inside hollow stems, so that the larvae can feed and grow hidden from view until they are ready to emerge.
Apparently this is one species that is growing in its distribution, previously found in localised spots in the south of England, they are now common throughout southern England, Wales, and further north. Although they have predators, they are thought to be equipped with a blistering chemical called Cantharidin, like the Blister Beetle family. This is interesting because they are actually in the family of False Blister Beetles. False Blister Beetles look like Blister Beetles but don’t generally contain Cantharidin.