The Ladybird thread (1 Viewer)

harry eales · Aug 1, 2005

Colin said:
Stranger/Mexican,
Thanks for the replies. This is a strange one. It seems with several of the warmer months gone (August tomorrow) I have suddenly realised that I have seen almost no Ladybirds this year. It's not a case of a dwindling supply but virtually none at all, all year. Can't think it can be the intruders otherwise I would have seen them. Maybe it is the lack of food?

Hello Colin,
I don't think it's the lack of Aphids (the commonest Ladybird Food) that is the problem. I have thousands of Aphids covering most of the foodplants I feed the larvae of Lepidoptera I am breeding. Many Ladybird species only have one life cycle a year and a good number of them I have seen recently, are in the pupal stage at the moment. If you try a little 'Beating' in the next few weeks or so, I think that you will find there is a good abundance of Ladybird species about.

Harry

Neil Harvey · Aug 1, 2005

There are plenty of all of the common species here in Essex; maybe a regional thing?

Stranger · Aug 1, 2005

harry eales said:
Hello Colin,
I don't think it's the lack of Aphids (the commonest Ladybird Food) that is the problem. I have thousands of Aphids covering most of the foodplants I feed the larvae of Lepidoptera I am breeding. Many Ladybird species only have one life cycle a year and a good number of them I have seen recently, are in the pupal stage at the moment. If you try a little 'Beating' in the next few weeks or so, I think that you will find there is a good abundance of Ladybird species about.

Harry

Harry
I think you are right as to it not being a lack of Aphids,since I posted the reply I have discovered a host of Blackfly on my Beans.No Ladybirds or Larvae though.
Going back some years we had a Ladybird invasion in the west country.In Weston Super Mare you could`nt walk along the seafront without being covered in them!

Colin · Aug 2, 2005

Harry,
Thanks for the reply. I will continue looking as I had intended to do anyway. I don't give up easily even if, as the wording above my avatar says, I fail quite often.

harry eales · Aug 2, 2005

Colin said:
Harry,
Thanks for the reply. I will continue looking as I had intended to do anyway. I don't give up easily even if, as the wording above my avatar says, I fail quite often.

Hello Colin,
I wouldn't advise you ever try skydiving then. lol.

Harry

HarassedDad · Aug 2, 2005

no scarcity in norfolk, but i do have a lot in pupae on my nettles at the moment and I've twice noticed parasitic egg laying by small flies/wasps?- so it might be it's a good year for parasites.

Stuart Read · Aug 2, 2005

I had no problems finding ladybirds in the spring, at least 13 species seen.
It might just be me but i find that ladybirds are easist to find in Spring & Autumn with the months of June & July the quietest probably because most are in the larval or pupal stages.

Stuart.

simon · Aug 10, 2005

Ladybird ?? Id Please

Saw this feeding on a tree today at work, cannot remember seeing anything like it before or find it in any of my books, anyone got any idea??

Gill Osborne · Aug 10, 2005

Certainly a VERY attractive bug........though as to ID I can't help with that *sorry*

Looking at the thumbnail before clicking on to it I thought it was a newly-emerged ladybird but having a much better look with the bigger pic I'm not so sure!
Somebody will know...

Gill

mothman · Aug 10, 2005

simon said:
Saw this feeding on a tree today at work, cannot remember seeing anything like it before or find it in any of my books, anyone got any idea??

It is a shield bug nymph,dificult to id them at this stage of life--Over to Harry!

Colin.

simon · Aug 10, 2005

mothman said:
It is a shield bug nymph,dificult to id them at this stage of life--Over to Harry!

Colin.

Thanks Colin,
just did a google for this nymph and the garden safari have a section on them, recoginize them as adults my guess is that this is a Tritomegas species nymph

harry eales · Aug 11, 2005

simon said:
Saw this feeding on a tree today at work, cannot remember seeing anything like it before or find it in any of my books, anyone got any idea??

Hello Simon,

Mothman is quite correct, it is a Shieldbug nymph, (4th instar) the species is Troilus luridus It has several English 'Common Names' including the Stealthy Shieldbug and the Lurid Shieldbug. The nymphs are exclusively predators on lepidopterous and Colepterous larva. A common tree dwelling species found south of Northumberland where it was only detected a couple of years ago.

Harry

mothman · Aug 12, 2005

harry eales said:
Hello Simon,

Mothman is quite correct, it is a Shieldbug nymph, (4th instar) the species is Troilus luridus It has several English 'Common Names' including the Stealthy Shieldbug and the Lurid Shieldbug. The nymphs are exclusively predators on lepidopterous and Colepterous larva. A common tree dwelling species found south of Northumberland where it was only detected a couple of years ago.

Harry

Well done that man :clap:

Colin.

simon · Aug 13, 2005

harry eales said:
Hello Simon,

Mothman is quite correct, it is a Shieldbug nymph, (4th instar) the species is Troilus luridus It has several English 'Common Names' including the Stealthy Shieldbug and the Lurid Shieldbug. The nymphs are exclusively predators on lepidopterous and Colepterous larva. A common tree dwelling species found south of Northumberland where it was only detected a couple of years ago.

Harry

Thanks Harry
:bounce: :bounce:

Talon 1 · Aug 19, 2005

Ladybird box?

I have loads of roses in my garden and although they have not been attacked to badly this year last year was a nightmare for green fly and then the ants started farming them to my Horror.

Are these Ladybird boxes worth it?
Do they work?

I will buy one if somebody could give me a clear yes!!!

Best wishes.

harry eales · Aug 19, 2005

ALASKA said:
I have loads of roses in my garden and although they have not been attacked to badly this year last year was a nightmare for green fly and then the ants started farming them to my Horror.

Are these Ladybird boxes worth it?
Do they work?

I will buy one if somebody could give me a clear yes!!!

Best wishes.

Hello Alaska,
Ladybird boxes, like Bumblebee or Solitary Bee nesting boxes, together with Lacewing hibernation boxes only do one thing. They make money for whoever is manufacturing and promoting them.

They may work on the rare occasion and it's usually that purchaser who gives a lot of free advertising to the manufacturer.

By all means spend an hour or so in the workshop making one out of scrap materials, but don't waste your money buying one. Insects are very particular as to where they nest or hibernate, and I think man has a lot to learn about such places, before he can duplicate them.

But, if you want to waste your money, well, it's yours to do so.

Harry

Talon 1 · Aug 20, 2005

harry eales said:
Hello Alaska,
Ladybird boxes, like Bumblebee or Solitary Bee nesting boxes, together with Lacewing hibernation boxes only do one thing. They make money for whoever is manufacturing and promoting them.

They may work on the rare occasion and it's usually that purchaser who gives a lot of free advertising to the manufacturer.

By all means spend an hour or so in the workshop making one out of scrap materials, but don't waste your money buying one. Insects are very particular as to where they nest or hibernate, and I think man has a lot to learn about such places, before he can duplicate them.

But, if you want to waste your money, well, it's yours to do so.

Harry

Thanks i do not think i will bother

Thanks

mothman · Aug 20, 2005

Got one for xmas one year-they are great if you like Earwigs!

Colin.

Lucky Birder · Sep 7, 2005

Ladybird scientific name query

Are 5 spot ladybirds etc unique in having a numeral in their scientific name? e.g. Coccinella 5-punctata . I can't think of any birds or flowers with one in.

harry eales · Sep 7, 2005

Lucky Birder said:
Are 5 spot ladybirds etc unique in having a numeral in their scientific name? e.g. Coccinella 5-punctata . I can't think of any birds or flowers with one in.

Hello LB,

I think your correct in that numbers are unique to Ladybirds. However, as I understand it, the use of numbers is simply a way of making the writing of a scientific name easier and more perhaps understandable to most people and especially those of us who haven't had the benefit of being taught Latin.

Most amateur naturalists would recognise bipunctata as two spot and decipunctata as 10 spot, but how many would recognise the number 7 or 22 when written in Latin? A scientist or taxonomist may use the full Latin specific name in a scientific paper, but it likely that it will only be read by another of the same ilk, who will understand it.

I wonder how long it will be before we see Five and Six spot Burnet Moths written as 5 spot and 6 spot?

Harry

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