ladybirds

[tom00_uk]

Was last year a very good breeding year for them?
at present every where i look i seem to see them, esp 7spots

[aeshna5]

The last couple of years seem to have been good for 7-spots. I'm also currently seeing lots of them around at the moment. Just a few Harlequins this week.

[Wild-Woman]

Yes- same here. Lots of Seven spots ladybirds in N Kent. Quite variable sizes but healthy looking nonetheless.
What I haven't seen yet are Two- spot. Perhaps they will put in an appearance later on.

[Hedera]

I saw lots of 7-spots yesterday on various plants, but not a single harlequin! Can't they stand the hard winter?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Hedera

........., but not a single harlequin! Can't they stand the hard winter?

They're natives of Siberia so should be able to cope with our winters!
Most likely that local populations have adjusted to local conditions: 'harlequins' do tend to be seen later in spring than many other species - maybe this benefits them by avoiding late frosts?

There are still plenty about and some of them only just becoming active, see the thread:
Harlequin Ladybirds - Aggregation

[Paul mabbott]

A sort of demonstration of why we shouldn't jump to concusions about species being common or rare ro whatever. After reading this thread about numbers of 7-spots and harlequins and absence of 2-spots, I walked down to the Post Office checking some plants that I monitor regularly.
On four distinct patches of shrubs/trees were a few 2-spots and on one (trimmed ash) was a kidney-spot. Not a 7-spot or harlequin to be seen.

[tom00_uk]

YouTube - mating ladybirds

enjoying the sunshine on the pond edge