Birch Shieldbug
Mike Prince photographed this colourful insect on a banana plant in his garden in Rye on Saturday, and Dave Monk has identified it as a Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus). Mike reported that the tail end was a bright vermilion-red, the body yellow and the underside greenish pale yellow, and there were green patches on the wings; length about 9 mm. Birch Shieldbugs are found throughout northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Adults lay eggs mainly on leaves and catkins of birch, though other trees such as alder, aspen, beech, oak, willow, holly and juniper are sometimes used (though not bananas!) They overwinter deep in leaf litter and can supercool their bodies to several degrees below freezing without harm; see, for example, http://faunayflora.blogspot.com/2007/12/elasmostethus-interstinctus.html