11 Thursday Nov 2021
I was really surprised during Tuesday’s walk to see so many ladybirds still about – not only adults but also a lot of larvae, and this one pair of adults that obviously thought it was springtime not late autumn.
On one small section of nettles growing along the road verge there were over 20 ladybirds.
Unfortunately, every single one was a Harlequin ladybird – not a 7-spot or other species to be seen.
07 Thursday Sep 2017
Tags
Halyzia 16-punctata, Halyzia secedimguttata, ladybird, ladybird larva, ladybird lifecycle, ladybird pupa, ladybug, Orange ladybird
I believe I may have an addiction to ladybirds! When I decided to write this post, I thought I’d just check that I hadn’t covered this topic already: of course, I knew I had written about ladybirds before but I didn’t realise quite how many times. There’s a post here and here and again here and another one here. Well, in spite of all those, here’s another one because, when I found all the Orange ladybirds pictured here within five minutes of each other yesterday, I was struck yet again by just how incredible is their transformation from egg to larva …
to pupa …
to ladybird. It really is quite miraculous!
11 Tuesday Jul 2017
Tags
British ladybirds, Halyzia 16-guttata, Halyzia secedimguttata, ladybird, ladybird larva, ladybug, Orange ladybird
When I’m out and about on my wanders, it’s usually a preponderance of Harlequin ladybirds that I see but this day was different. Instead of Harlequins, there seemed to be beautiful little Orange ladybirds (Halyzia 16-guttata) wherever I looked. And there weren’t just adult ladybirds – almost every leaf I turned over had their larvae as well. And this was across two different parks, not just in one location.
We are constantly warned that the invasive Harlequins, first recorded in Britain in October 2004, are a serious threat to Britain’s native ladybirds, and surveys have shown that most native ladybirds are in serious decline, partly due to the Harlequin but also due to habitat loss. Perhaps the Orange ladybird is fighting back. It has apparently adapted to living on different tree species, first the sycamore and more recently the ash, so this may be aiding its apparent increase in abundance. I certainly hope so!
Don’t forget that we can’t know what’s happening with British ladybirds (or, indeed, any other living species) unless sightings are recorded. You can record yours through your local biodiversity records centre or directly with the UK Ladybird Survey website here.
09 Tuesday Aug 2016
Tags
Halyzia 16-punctata, harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, ladybird, ladybird larva, ladybird lifecycle, ladybird pupa, Orange ladybird
Just like every other insect, a ladybird goes through a complete transformation during its short, one-year life but the various stages are something I’ve only become aware of this year so I thought I’d share them with you.
Adult ladybirds spend the cold winter months in a dormant state, awakening in the springtime as the weather begins to warm up. After munching away on some aphids to get their juices flowing again, they look for a member of the opposite sex and mate. I don’t have any egg photos but they are, apparently, bright yellow and are laid on the underside of leaves. Once the mating and egg-laying are complete, the adult ladybirds die.
Depending on the temperature and weather conditions, the eggs hatch after 3 to 10 days and the little larvae immediately begin eating: scale insects and aphids are their favourites so you can see why gardeners love them. At this stage, they look nothing at all like ladybirds, though they do have unique patterns – left and centre above are Harlequins (Harmonia axyridis) and the one on the right is an Orange (Halyzia 16-punctata).
After 3 to 4 weeks of constant eating, the larvae pupate, shedding their larval skin and changing into this strange-looking blob you can find attached to the tops of leaves. The metamorphosis from larvae to adult ladybird only takes 7 to 10 days – a miracle really!
When the adult ladybird first emerges from its pupa, it is very pale and takes a little while for its final colours to show, though you can usually see traces of its spots. And that’s it! The adult will trundle around the leaves, eating all those pesky aphids until the winter months come, and the whole process will begin all over again.
earthstar 
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