Ladybird IDs and a question...

[loripo]

Seen yesterday - a two spot?

Seen recently - but conifers not very near - how far do they roam assuming these are Pine ladybirds?


And the question - this seems to be a harlequin.

I've seen two (or this same one twice) in the past week and it's the same size as the Pine/Two spot around 5mm long. Couldn't get a photo of it near another ladybird which would show the size difference. Does dwarfism occur in beetles? Or is there some other reason for this one being about a third of the 'volume' of a normal harlequin.
I've seen some Seven spots too, that seem to be much larger than usual.

[htcdude]

Both your IDs are correct.

I've seen recently a number of different Harlequins of different sizes as well

According to the Harlequin Survey site, they say if it's less than 5mm it's definately NOT a Harlequin:

Harlequin Ladybird Survey - Recognition and Distinction

Maybe yours is borderline on size but it's definately a Harlequin!

And maybe something affected it's growth whilst pupating? Just guesses

Nige

[Paul mabbott]

Yes, the second picture is a 'pine ladybird' which is seldom seen on pine trees - much more common on sycamore or lime where it eats scale insects.
The last picture is a harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) which are nominally quite large (7mms or more) but over recent years have tended to be smaller which I attribute to malnutrition: so many of them competing for limited food resources. The other point is that as with all ladybirds and, indeed, most insects, there is sexual dimorphism of size: males tend to be considerably shorter than females.