A few weeks ago I wrote about going insecting and showed a few of my recent finds, including what I suspected was a photo of ladybird eggs. Sure enough, when I revisited that particular spot last week, I found ladybirds in various stages of development. When I add in a photo, taken in a previous year, of ladybirds about to mate on a gorse bush, we have the full lifecycle: mating, eggs, larva, larva beginning to pupate, pupa and recently emerged adult (they often emerge quite pale), all of the 7-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata).