I found a firebug! - Scantius aegyptius

When I was a kid in primary school I was so afraid of those bugs! I don't really know why, but you know how kids like to scare each other with all kids of crazy stories. And since I mostly saw them on cemeteries (and parks... but that obviously means the parks were creepy too) I was associating them with dead bodies. Crazy.. I know :)

Now that I am a bit (haha) older and a bit wiser I am afraid of them no more! I actually find them pretty. And I like to watch them walking around when I spot them.

Surprise surprise, this little bunch I found also near a cemetery. They were walking up and down a very old pine trees that grows right outside the gates. And that was my observation spot for the next 30 min or so. I don't need much to be entertained :p

Scantius aegyptius

Those fellas are one of the red bugs from the Pyrrhocoridae family. But as I was looking for their exact name (and I think I got it right), I noticed some slight variation of the pattern. Some have extra little dot and the rex pant is more round on the ends. The pattern of the ones I saw are perfect triangles.
I guess it is all about those tiny details.

Did you have enough bugs yet?
Here is a lovely lichen that grew on the same trunk as a bonus :)

Last one.
I promise :p