Now that's Red

With bird action at a low I have been scouring the hedgerows to increase my patch species list. I've seen one of these before but never had the wit to find out what it is. Nice and easy I thought being bright red but my Beetle guide came up blank. I Googled Red Beetle but the links  were obsessed with the Red Lily Beetle as it is a pest so Wikipedia it was who identified Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva for the Latinistas). So back to the guide and there it is page 166 with a dull brown illustration.

I waited to see if I could get a shot as it opened it's wings but no hope although did catch some falling pollen.

Just a hint to those interested in nature like myself but only just expanding one's knowledge. Don't be an arse and buy the biggest book with all the species in to start with as you'll just be wading through loads of things you will never see. I did this by purchasing the Europe Dragonfly ID rather than the British and after a while had to spend an hour crossing out all the species I was unlikely to see to reduce searching time. Or am I just lazy? Viva le internet!