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The Ladybird thread (2 Viewers)

Found quite a large number of Harlequin Ladybirds at my local Nature Reserve the other day, mostly adults but also a few larvae & pupae.
The pupae & empty pupal cases were all attached to fallen leaves of a large Sycamore tree, all the adults & larvae were below this tree either on the dead leaves or on nettles where the leaves had fallen. Presumably I hadn't seen them before as they were up in the foliage of the tree.
I have attached a series of photos.

Stuart.
 

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Yes, a good variety there! It's quite a good time of year for seeing some ladybirds which descend with the leaves ... a few years back I would have recommended it as the best time to find orange ladybirds (Halyzia sedecimguttata) which are also late breeders and commonly fall to ground on ash and other leaves ...

The 'harlequin' is still breeding - you can find all life stages at present, including eggs. The imagines are starting to enter houses - large numbers of calls and e-mails about this yesterday. You can see why it is sometimes called the 'halloween ladybird' in the USA.

Stuart Read said:
Found quite a large number of Harlequin Ladybirds at my local Nature Reserve the other day, mostly adults but also a few larvae & pupae.
The pupae & empty pupal cases were all attached to fallen leaves of a large Sycamore tree, all the adults & larvae were below this tree either on the dead leaves or on nettles where the leaves had fallen. Presumably I hadn't seen them before as they were up in the foliage of the tree.
I have attached a series of photos.

Stuart.
Click to expand...
 
Just had a lovely Ladybird sitting on my Computer screen, and it then sat on my face :-O

Must be feeling the cold and it wants to hibernate at the moment. ;)

It has unusual colouring. Mainly black with very few red dots. Is this usual markings or is it a type of Ladybird?. Unusual markings for a normal colour

I was lucky to see a mustard coloured one with at least 20 black dots on its back a few weeks ago.

Never saw this colouration in Scotland, so it is new to me. Interesting to see. hmmm....

Regards
Kathy
 
The yellow one was probably the 22-spot ladybird, Psyllobora vigintiquattuorpunctata - a mildew feeder.

Black with red is trickier - of the native species the pine (Exochomus quadripustulatus), kidney-spot (Chilocorus renipustulatus) are common (they have no white marks at all) as are melanic variants of red species, especially the 2-spot (Adalia decempunctata) and, just to confuse us - the 'harlequin' ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) has two melanic forms! Look back down this thread - I think there are pictures of most of them ....

Peewit said:
It has unusual colouring. Mainly black with very few red dots. Is this usual markings or is it a type of Ladybird?. Unusual markings for a normal colour

I was lucky to see a mustard coloured one with at least 20 black dots on its back a few weeks ago.
Kathy
Click to expand...
 
paul mabbott said:
The yellow one was probably the 22-spot ladybird, Psyllobora vigintiquattuorpunctata - a mildew feeder.

Black with red is trickier - of the native species the pine (Exochomus quadripustulatus), kidney-spot (Chilocorus renipustulatus) are common (they have no white marks at all) as are melanic variants of red species, especially the 2-spot (Adalia decempunctata) and, just to confuse us - the 'harlequin' ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) has two melanic forms! Look back down this thread - I think there are pictures of most of them ....
Click to expand...

Hi Paul

Thank you for your answer here :t:

I have come across the second Ladybird again (from earlier ) and it has no white markings at all on its head area.

I wonder if Harlequins has come into the equation here. Never knew that they are non-native.

Regards
Kathy
 
A saw a bush covered with these Ladybirds last week, just hatched. Anyone know what these are?
 

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alexf said:
A saw a bush covered with these Ladybirds last week, just hatched. Anyone know what these are?
Click to expand...

Can't say with absolute certainty because the elytral patterns have not formed yet but from the forebody this looks like Harmonia axyridis, the 'harlequin' ladybird.
 
This year so far...

The year started with 7-spot Ladybirds (2) in the garden during a nice sunny afternoon on 10th February, next up was a 24-spot under a piece of 'reptile tin' on the 13th March, presumably using it to gain extra warmth.
April has seen the ladybirds really come out in force at my local nature reserve Cornard Mere, here I have recorded the follwing; plenty of 7-spots, also 16, 24 & 22-spot ladybirds plus 3 Harlequins so far.
On the 21st April I noticed the 16-spot 'swarming' in bunches on dead fallen twigs in sunny spots, possibly using these to warm up?
I have attached a few photos including a couple of the 16-spot swarms.

Stuart
 

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First one I've seen this spring.... Looks like it's doing its job fine. ;)
 

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I, or rather my Eagle eyed wife spotted this landing on a Sallow? while we were looking for early Bugs on a nice sunny afternoon today 27/02/09. At a Heath reserve on the Hants/Berks borders.

Am I right that it`s an Eyed Ladybird. Also if it is, is this quite early for them I searched for normal occurance dates but had no luck.

We didn`t find any Bugs but 3 common Lizards and one Slow Worm was a consolation.
 

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busyb said:
I, or rather my Eagle eyed wife spotted this landing on a Sallow? while we were looking for early Bugs on a nice sunny afternoon today 27/02/09. At a Heath reserve on the Hants/Berks borders.

Am I right that it`s an Eyed Ladybird. Also if it is, is this quite early for them I searched for normal occurance dates but had no luck.

We didn`t find any Bugs but 3 common Lizards and one Slow Worm was a consolation.
Click to expand...

hi busybe

From what you have said about this Ladybird - Yes, it is an eyed Ladybird There is a variation of them, and they look simliar to one another

This is the link which I associate with your picture. Hope this helps.

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&sa=X

Your Lizard, and Slow worms are a good find too.
 
Last edited:
Yes, as Kathy confirms, Anatis ocellata the eyed ldybird. Some other ladybirds have these ocellations (the yellow rings around the spots) but less commonly and they are never as large as the Eyed. The pattern on the forebody is distinctive for the species.

It's unusual to see any ladybirds out and about in February but it has been happening more often over recent years. I suspect that you had a very sunny and quite warm spell recently? Ladybirds warm up when the sun's rays reach them and then 'think' it's spring! Eyed ladybirds most commonly overwinter amongst the needles deep in the canopy of pine trees - perhaps this one cose a sunny spot or was disturbed by something?
 
Hi Kathy & Paul

Thank-you for the confirmation.

Paul, we have had a run of few warmer days here, yesterday was the best for sunshine and was the warmest of the year so far. Disturbance to the hibernation site is possible
as there has been some tree felling on the reserve, though mostly Birch from what I could see, I just hope they havn`t removed too many from around the Downy Emerald ponds!!
 

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