Ladybird

A water ladybird, Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).  Smaller and slimmer than the more usual types of ladybird.  As the name suggest, it is normally found near water, on reeds, but this specimen was was actually about 100 metres away from the lake, on a thistle.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-07-11.