Where are all the ladybirds this year?

[Phoebe]

Having never seen a Harlequin I actually seen 2 on my Honeysuckle today! I will be photographing them tomorrow because one of them is totally white with squarish black spots, it looks like a chequerboard! I am assuming it is a Harlequin as I have never seen one like this before and I can't find an image on searching. Has anyone else seen an all black and white Harlequin?

I also found a 7 spot in my garden today

I found a two-spot on my car last week and carefully took it home and put it on my rose bush. That was the first Ladybird I've seen this year.

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by Phoebe

...one of them is totally white with squarish black spots, it looks like a chequerboard! I am assuming it is a Harlequin as I have never seen one like this before and I can't find an image on searching. Has anyone else seen an all black and white Harlequin?

No, I haven't. Any chance of finding him/her and posting a photo?

[aeshna5]

Without really trying I've seen a few 7-spots, a couple of Harlequins, a Pine + in my garden a couple of 22-spot Ladybirdsin the last couple of days.

In one of the freebie London papers there was an article about a huge invasion of ladybirds in a Somerset field, where apparently it was literally crawling with them. The photo with the artcle showed a hand with many 7-spots crawling on it.

Certainly I'm seeing more 7-spots this year. Last weekend I saw dozens in my local country park feasting on a greyish aphid species on Hoary Mustard.

[Babsyork]

My latest - a black ladybird plus a larvae on the raspberries a couple of weeks ago. I have seen two two-spots recently and yesterday my first 7-spot.

I don't know what happened to my £11 worth of larvae. By the time they arrived we had torrential rain which had washed a lot of the many aphids away, so I was having to look for some to put the larvae on. I don't know how long a small larvae takes to turn into a chrysalis (is that the right word) and then a fully fledged ladybird.

[dogsmercury]

There's been thousands of harlequin ladybirds here in basildon, pupae, larvae and adults I've seen quite a few 2 and 7 spots as well so at least they seem to be doing ok .

Graham

[Columbine]

Until reading this thread, I had thought it had been a very good year for ladybirds as we have had an awful lot up here this summer.
I have never seen a harlequin so would be interested to see any photos anyone posts.
There are some of these around, I first thought might be harlequins but having looked them up, now think they are perhaps cream spotted ladybirds.

[nealeholl]

Don't worry about the ladybirds - they're all here with me. I set aside loads of nettles to encourage them, which they're cheerfully ignoring in favour of the ragwort, (of which I have the national collection).

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Columbine

Until reading this thread, I had thought it had been a very good year for ladybirds as we have had an awful lot up here this summer.
I have never seen a harlequin so would be interested to see any photos anyone posts.
There are some of these around, I first thought might be harlequins but having looked them up, now think they are perhaps cream spotted ladybirds.

Yes, that's a Cream-spotted Ladybird!

[aeshna5]

Today taking a walk around the local country park we saw good numbers of ladybirds (used sweep net/beating tray as well as casual observation) + recorded:

3 2-spot (pr in cop)
100+ 7-spot
1 14-spot
1 16-spot
1 22-spot
c20 Adonis
8 Harlequin

[cutecoot]

Originally Posted by charlieb

Stortons Pits has hundreds, if not thousands - larvae, pupae and adults.

I've had *loads* of ladybirds in my garden, especially about a month ago when I cut back an area of grass I had left to grow long, there were so many hidden away and that needed rescuing before I put the cut grass into the recycling bin! (I live just up the road to Stortons Pits )