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The Ladybird thread (1 Viewer)

Ladybirds

I have some friends with a Guest House, it's a Victorian building with central heating. Every Winter they have ladybirds sneaking in to sleep in the ceiling corners of one or two rooms but this year the numbers are amazing!
They have seen "flocks" of ladybirds flying towards the house and are finding clusters of 20 or more in several rooms. Many many more are sheltering in and around the exterior brickwork.
The question is... should they evict the ones in the rooms or leave them to overwinter where they are? I'm dubious about the heating situation as they close for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year and I think the ladybirds might think it's Spring when the heating in the rooms comes back on in January.
Any ideas would be welcome :stuck:
 
ladybirds in winter

It's a problem and you've identified some of the difficulties.
At this time of year many ladybirds will be looking for shelter to overwinter. They do *not* need to be indoors but seek shelter from the wind, rain and extreme cold. Houses or not, they will fly until they find a vertical surface and then climb until they find an overwintering niche. In the wild this may be a tree limb, a cleft in a tree; or they may creep under tree roots. In urban areas it may be under drain pipes, in garden sheds or ventilation bricks. If they find an open window or some other entrance then they will go inside away from the rain and cold!

There are several problems for those going indoors. As you note, people switch their heating on late in the year and the ladybirds think it's spring. (This happens in 'ordinary' homes where people warm the spare room for guests or switch the central heating on just before the holidays). Many of them die because they can't find water or food (unless you have a lot of house plants with aphids). And they can't get out - windows are shut when the heating is turned up.

So, if they're in a house, my advice is to collect them up and throw them outside - if it's cold, put them in a dense hedgerow. However, if they're in a a garage or outhouse that is not heated and is regularly open to the outside - leave them.

Finally (see the other ladybird thread), it would be interesting to know what type of ladybird they are. 2-spot ladybirds are common entrants to houses in urban areas but many other species may do it. However, the most notorious invader at present is the multivariate Asian or harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis. In which case, one might not worry too much about saving them?

Cheers, Paul M
roosmum said:
I have some friends with a Guest House, it's a Victorian building with central heating. Every Winter they have ladybirds sneaking in to sleep in the ceiling corners of one or two rooms but this year the numbers are amazing!
They have seen "flocks" of ladybirds flying towards the house and are finding clusters of 20 or more in several rooms. Many many more are sheltering in and around the exterior brickwork.
The question is... should they evict the ones in the rooms or leave them to overwinter where they are? I'm dubious about the heating situation as they close for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year and I think the ladybirds might think it's Spring when the heating in the rooms comes back on in January.
Any ideas would be welcome :stuck:
 
ladybirds in autumn

I seem to be the only person on this forum seeing ladybirds but they are around. It is, as I notedquite a good time of year to see many species but at present there are lots of the invasive 'harlequin'.
The latest www.harlequin-survey.org map shows new finds in Staffordshire and Gloucestershire (not far from Somerset!); however these are isolated observations compared to the thousands flying around London and the south-east. They have also reappeared in Derby where there are groups on the cathedral wall - seeking sanctuary? None have been recorded outside of Derby city - they must have flown to other towns and villages. Has anyone seen any?
Paul M


paul mabbott said:
The 'harlequin' ladybird is still very active all over SE England although especially in London and the Kent coast. They are running out of food and so are taking flight in large numbers; also, soon, they will start looking for sheltered places to overwinter.
This is, oddly, a good time to see most ladybirds, not just the invader. As the leaves fall off trees and aphids disappear, the ladybirds shelter on tree trunks - including the species that spend most of the year in the tree-tops.
Take a look at any tree trunk (but especially limes and sycamores) and you'll find at least one or two ladybirds. In some cases (such as the orange ladybird, Halyzia sedecimguttata) you might see large aggregates.
Cheers, Paul
 
paul mabbott said:
I seem to be the only person on this forum seeing ladybirds but they are around.

Here in Aldershot, Hampshire I'm still seeing Orange Ladybirds very active on my Himalayan Birch - there are still plenty of leaves which have mildew for them to feed on. Their numbers haven't been as high this year. They appeared earlier than in previous years and their larvae were roaming the leaves when they were still fresh, with very little in mildew for them to feed on.

There has been no sign of the Harlequin Ladybird here this year. I guess that next Spring may well change that situation.
 
Hi Paul. They seem to be 2 and 7 spot ladybirds, certainly all black and red with no yellow coloured ones in evidence and nothing which might be a harlequin as far as I can see.
 
orange ladybirds

Hello David,
Yes, this has been a good year for oranges. If it hadn't been for the invasion by haxy, we might have been talking about 'The Year of the Orange Ladybird'! I think this has been a good year for them because it has been relatively moist throughout the year (no droughts) thus encouraging mildew on which the ladybird feeds.
Yes, the 'harlequin' has been seen in southern Hants but not in large numbers - you may not get it for a couple of years (hopefully).
Cheers, Paul

Here in Aldershot, Hampshire I'm still seeing Orange Ladybirds very active on my Himalayan Birch - there are still plenty of leaves which have mildew for them to feed on. Their numbers haven't been as high this year. They appeared earlier than in previous years and their larvae were roaming the leaves when they were still fresh, with very little in mildew for them to feed on.
There has been no sign of the Harlequin Ladybird here this year. I guess that next Spring may well change that situation.[/QUOTE]
 
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Hello Rose. You'd know if they were harlequins - they would all be different! You could probably find them around your way - they seem to have been flying over and there are large numbers between Ramsgate and Canterbury. Beware!
Paul
roosmum said:
Hi Paul. They seem to be 2 and 7 spot ladybirds, certainly all black and red with no yellow coloured ones in evidence and nothing which might be a harlequin as far as I can see.
 
paul mabbott said:
Hello Rose. You'd know if they were harlequins - they would all be different! You could probably find them around your way - they seem to have been flying over and there are large numbers between Ramsgate and Canterbury. Beware!
Paul

Here's a couple from West Suffolk.

Stuart.
 

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Harlequins

Thanks Stuart,
These are the succinea (19-spot) and the spectabilis (4-spot melanic) forms. The other common British form is the conspicua (2-spot melanic) of which I've attached a pic.
Just to confuse things, the succinea may have more spots or fewer (down to 0) and the melanic patches may be of all sorts of shapes. There are several other pattern variants which haven't been seen in UK yet - worth keeping an eye out for.
Cheers, Paul
PS: the critical features of this species are that they have brown legs, have large patches of white down the side of the forebody and a small white triangle on the head - all nicely seen in Stuart's pics.

Stuart Read said:
Here's a couple from West Suffolk.

Stuart.
 

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'harlequin' ladybird

The 'harlequin' ladybird is stil active (in London and Derby at least) even during the deep frosts of the last week. Its home range includes Siberia so that's not too surprising. Will be interesting to see how long it stays active?

paul mabbott said:
Hello David,
Yes, the 'harlequin' has been seen in southern Hants but not in large numbers - you may not get it for a couple of years (hopefully).
Cheers, Paul

There has been no sign of the Harlequin Ladybird here this year. I guess that next Spring may well change that situation.
[/QUOTE]
 
Orange Ladybirds still active -just about.

paul mabbott said:
The 'harlequin' ladybird is stil active (in London and Derby at least) even during the deep frosts of the last week. Its home range includes Siberia so that's not too surprising. Will be interesting to see how long it stays active?

The Orange Ladybirds that I can still see on the Birch leaves don't seem to have moved today (dry but cold, 2C with north wind blowing) but a few of them have been moving about over the last couple of days, so it seems that, with the tree still holding on to the majority of its leaves, these ladybirds haven't quite given up for winter quite yet.
 
The orange ladybird is quite unusual in that it will stay active late in the year. There are still pupae about (in London, probably elsewhere). Roger Hawkins collected a pupa which emerged during the winter. This has not been observed in nature but it's possible that they are the only British species capable of overwintering as pupae. Orange ladybirds are the northernmost species in Britain (from older records) so they're obviously quite hardy - it remains to be seen whether their numbers will be afected by the invasion of Harmonia axyridis. Mike Majerus has a theory that they can determine the hardness of the forthcominf winter: if it will be mild they will 'hibernate' on trees, if it will be hard, they will bury themselves in leaf litter. I don't see this from London observations *but* only records will tell - see if you can find orange ladybirds and let one of the recording systems know!
Please do this for all ladybirds - if in doubt mail me and I'll pass records on to appropriate recorders. Thanks, Paul

DavidJJones said:
The Orange Ladybirds that I can still see on the Birch leaves don't seem to have moved today (dry but cold, 2C with north wind blowing) but a few of them have been moving about over the last couple of days, so it seems that, with the tree still holding on to the majority of its leaves, these ladybirds haven't quite given up for winter quite yet.
 
Ladybirds in the supermarket

Another exotic ladybird, the African Cheinomeles lunata, has been found on grapes in Perth (Scotland). This very distinctive, large ladybird was last found in good numbers during the winter of 2001-2, also on grapes. Lots of other interesting ladybirds and other insects may be found on southern hemisphere importance - makes shopping more interesting!

paul mabbott said:
The orange ladybird is quite unusual in that it will stay active late in the year. There are still pupae about (in London, probably elsewhere). Roger Hawkins collected a pupa which emerged during the winter. This has not been observed in nature but it's possible that they are the only British species capable of overwintering as pupae. Orange ladybirds are the northernmost species in Britain (from older records) so they're obviously quite hardy - it remains to be seen whether their numbers will be afected by the invasion of Harmonia axyridis. Mike Majerus has a theory that they can determine the hardness of the forthcominf winter: if it will be mild they will 'hibernate' on trees, if it will be hard, they will bury themselves in leaf litter. I don't see this from London observations *but* only records will tell - see if you can find orange ladybirds and let one of the recording systems know!
Please do this for all ladybirds - if in doubt mail me and I'll pass records on to appropriate recorders. Thanks, Paul
 

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And it's still going but so are a lot of other ladybirds, despite the seriously low temperatures.
We're trying to intensify the study of the spread of this beast and its effects, if any, on native species. I'm co-ordinating a set of surveys in the north of England (see http://www.ladybird-survey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/NoELS.htm ) and have set up an e-group specifically for ladybird watchers in the north (although anyone interested from elsewhere would be welcome) - drop me an e-mail for an invitation.
Best wishes, Paul
paul mabbott said:
The 'harlequin' ladybird is stil active (in London and Derby at least) even during the deep frosts of the last week. Its home range includes Siberia so that's not too surprising. Will be interesting to see how long it stays active?
[/QUOTE]
 
None native Ladybirds

IF this has been aired before please let me know the tread.

Has anyone got any information on the ladybirds none native to the UK. That are putting our native ladytbirds in danger (If there is not enough food to go round). Have you got any photos of these to compare with our own species.
And what do we do( if anything) about them.
 
This appears to be the same beast that has landed here. Our first summer in our present house, the south side of our screened (thankfully) porch was literally covered with the smelly little bugs. There was hardly a space on the south side of the house where you could put an outstretched hand without touching them. There must have been 10's of thousands. We were vacuuming up to 20 a day out of windows for a couple of months.

Luckily they have never been that bad since, although they we do find the odd one in the house, even through the winter months. I killed one just two days ago. They smell so much the cat won't touch them, and they even bite on occassion.

I'm afraid they are here to stay now. If you can stop them there then go for it, but I have my doubts. And to think that it used to be a treat to find them when it was the native types. Hopefully they at least keep the introduced aphid infestations down.

Scott
 
That is just horrible what happened to you Scot especially in a new house.
You are not that far from us in Northants. I think I saw one last year but not sure.
We do have large native ladybirds... The one I saw had big black splodges not spots. I only saw the one.. I dont want to go and squish a native.
Thanks Gi for the web link. found a few more web sites of intrest and help with id.
 
cavan wood said:
Just for the record, I'm near Peterborough, CANADA. :hi:

Scott

Ho! Sorry. I thought you were In Northants.

I was talking about the Harlequin Ladybirds that are in the UK, that are not native to the UK.
Im not sure where these Ladybirds come from. Are they native In Canada or the States or they an alien species there too.
They seem to be killing our smaller ladybirds. They eat all the aphids then apparently eat the Ladybirds.

We also had problems with a flat worm that was not native. That was eating our earthworms. The places where this worm was the Blackbirds disappeared as there was no food for them. I have not heard any thing else about this worm for a few years.
 

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