Lots of Ladybirds
Discussion
not seen any here in a good few months!
google is your friend...
October- February: Adult ladybirds spend winter in a dormant state, known as 'overwintering'.
March- April: Adult ladybirds become active and leave their overwintering sites to find food, aphids (greenfly).
May: Male and female ladybirds mate.
June- July: Mated females lay eggs which hatch into immature stages called 'larvae'. Larvae feed on aphids and then form 'pupae'.
August: The new generation of adult ladybirds emerge from the pupae.
September: These new adults feed but do not mate until next spring after they have overwintered.
google is your friend...
October- February: Adult ladybirds spend winter in a dormant state, known as 'overwintering'.
March- April: Adult ladybirds become active and leave their overwintering sites to find food, aphids (greenfly).
May: Male and female ladybirds mate.
June- July: Mated females lay eggs which hatch into immature stages called 'larvae'. Larvae feed on aphids and then form 'pupae'.
August: The new generation of adult ladybirds emerge from the pupae.
September: These new adults feed but do not mate until next spring after they have overwintered.
They could well be Harlequin ladybirds, a foreign invader - http://www.harlequin-survey.org/recognition_and_di...
I've been vacuuming them out of the corners of the windows all autumn and they're still coming in, rotten things.
From the site:
Why should we be concerned about the arrival of the harlequin ladybird?
Threat to wildlife -
Harlequin ladybirds can seriously affect native ladybird species
Harlequin ladybirds are very effective aphid predators and have a wider food range and habitat than most other aphid predators (such as the 7-spot ladybird) and so easily out-compete them.
Harlequin ladybirds do not have a requirement for a dormant period before they can reproduce, as some ladybirds have (e.g. 7-spot and eyed ladybirds), and so have a longer reproductive period than most other species. In 2004 in London, harlequin ladybird larvae were found still feeding in late October, long after all the native species had sought overwintering sites.
When aphids are scarce, harlequin ladybirds consume other prey including ladybird eggs, larvae and pupae, butterfly and moth eggs and caterpillars.
Harlequin ladybirds can disperse rapidly over long distances and so have the potential for rapid geographic expansion.
Problem to humans -
Harlequin ladybirds have a tendency to aggregate in buildings in large numbers during autumn and winter.
Many people find harlequin ladybirds a nuisance in the house, and do not wish to share their home with a few tens of thousands of harlequins
As a defence mechanism many ladybird species exude a yellow fluid (called reflex blood) which has an unpleasant acrid smell, and which can stain soft furnishings
When hungry, harlequin ladybirds will bite humans in their search for something edible. Ladybirds in houses, woken from dormancy by central heating, may bite people as there is no food available. The bites usually produce a small bump and sting slightly. There are a few documented cases of people having a severe allergic reaction to harlequin ladybirds.
Harlequin ladybirds damage soft fruit
In late summer, when harlequin ladybirds are feeding up for the winter, they will seek ripe fruit and suck the juice from it to gain sugar. They thereby cause blemishes on late summer ripening fruits, such as pears, and reduce the value of the crop.
Harlequin ladybirds are also particularly fond of grapes, and wineries are finding large numbers in the grape harvest. These are difficult to separate from the grapes before pressing, and the defensive chemicals (reflex blood) produced by the ladybirds taint the wine.
I've been vacuuming them out of the corners of the windows all autumn and they're still coming in, rotten things.
From the site:
Why should we be concerned about the arrival of the harlequin ladybird?
Threat to wildlife -
Harlequin ladybirds can seriously affect native ladybird species
Harlequin ladybirds are very effective aphid predators and have a wider food range and habitat than most other aphid predators (such as the 7-spot ladybird) and so easily out-compete them.
Harlequin ladybirds do not have a requirement for a dormant period before they can reproduce, as some ladybirds have (e.g. 7-spot and eyed ladybirds), and so have a longer reproductive period than most other species. In 2004 in London, harlequin ladybird larvae were found still feeding in late October, long after all the native species had sought overwintering sites.
When aphids are scarce, harlequin ladybirds consume other prey including ladybird eggs, larvae and pupae, butterfly and moth eggs and caterpillars.
Harlequin ladybirds can disperse rapidly over long distances and so have the potential for rapid geographic expansion.
Problem to humans -
Harlequin ladybirds have a tendency to aggregate in buildings in large numbers during autumn and winter.
Many people find harlequin ladybirds a nuisance in the house, and do not wish to share their home with a few tens of thousands of harlequins
As a defence mechanism many ladybird species exude a yellow fluid (called reflex blood) which has an unpleasant acrid smell, and which can stain soft furnishings
When hungry, harlequin ladybirds will bite humans in their search for something edible. Ladybirds in houses, woken from dormancy by central heating, may bite people as there is no food available. The bites usually produce a small bump and sting slightly. There are a few documented cases of people having a severe allergic reaction to harlequin ladybirds.
Harlequin ladybirds damage soft fruit
In late summer, when harlequin ladybirds are feeding up for the winter, they will seek ripe fruit and suck the juice from it to gain sugar. They thereby cause blemishes on late summer ripening fruits, such as pears, and reduce the value of the crop.
Harlequin ladybirds are also particularly fond of grapes, and wineries are finding large numbers in the grape harvest. These are difficult to separate from the grapes before pressing, and the defensive chemicals (reflex blood) produced by the ladybirds taint the wine.
Hang on to them! Or at least keep them and release them into a sheltered spot in the garden where they can do some good munching aphids. A shed would be ideal.
'Native' ladybirds are less than 5mm long and have black legs. Treasure these.
I've looked into organic methods of pest control and find that native ladybirds are on sale on the internet for £24.99 for 25.
Crap! Had I known... I must have turfed out several hundred pounds worth this year...
Any new finds are being caught in a jar and released into a stack of clay pots in the greenhouse to overwinter. They should be well sheltered there.
'Native' ladybirds are less than 5mm long and have black legs. Treasure these.
I've looked into organic methods of pest control and find that native ladybirds are on sale on the internet for £24.99 for 25.
Crap! Had I known... I must have turfed out several hundred pounds worth this year...
Any new finds are being caught in a jar and released into a stack of clay pots in the greenhouse to overwinter. They should be well sheltered there.
I always have tons of them in the winter....they seem to sleep in my double glazing. If I open a window you can see them all lined up behind the seals.
Unfortunately my cats have discovered this and enjoy plucking them off and rolling them to each other. Delightful. I always try and rescue them, but a 3-legged ladybird in the wild isn't going to last long.
Unfortunately my cats have discovered this and enjoy plucking them off and rolling them to each other. Delightful. I always try and rescue them, but a 3-legged ladybird in the wild isn't going to last long.
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