Ladybird As gardeners we have good reason to try to attract and look after these beautiful creatures. For one thing they eat aphids, plant lice and greenflies; one ladybird can eat thousands of pests during its lifetime of approximately one year beginning while it is still only a larva.
It is much better to have ladybirds on hand than to use chemicals to tackle pests, once we start using insecticides we upset the whole balance of nature, killing predators such as the ladybird as well as the pest species. Without any natural predators our gardens are wide open to attack from marauding insects so even more chemicals are needed and that is how the problem spirals out of control.
The life cycle of our ladybirds typically consists of mating in the spring after which the females lay their eggs. The eggs hatch into black grub-like larvae which eat voraciously before pupating and transforming into the adult ladybird during the summer. The adults must hibernate in order to begin the cycle again the following spring.
To help ladybirds we should avoid using chemicals in our gardens and then provide them with suitable places to hibernate in the winter.
To hibernate they might look for evergreen trees where they tuck themselves away in cracks on the trunks; ivy is another popular location for the hibernating ladybird, particularly where ivy grows tightly around a tree trunk or even up against a house; a shed might also be used, particularly around the window frames where cracks provide security for these small creatures.
Ladybirds come in all shapes and sizes, in fact we have 46 different species living in Britain; the commonest is the familiar seven-spot ladybird which has seven black spots on its two red wing cases (see photo above). The red and black attire of the ladybird is to warn predators not to eat them; ladybirds taste quite nasty so they are left well alone by other predators.
You may have heard about a new species of ladybird which has started to spread quite rapidly across Britain. The 'harlequin ladybird' is a native of Asia and was introduced to America and Europe because it eats a lot of pests; it is now reputed to be the fastest spreading non-native species in Europe. It was first confirmed in Britain in 2004 and already it can be found across the length and breadth of Britain. Unfortunately, unlike our native species the harlequin doesn’t just eat pest species; it also eats non-pest species such as the larvae of other ladybirds and the caterpillars of butterflies. Scientists are monitoring the situation and will make suggestions in due course.
To learn how to identify harlequin ladybirds go to: www.harlequin-survey.org/recognition_and_distinction.htm