Lovely Ladybirds
The variety of beetles in the UK is staggering – around 4,000 different species! They do lots of important jobs, from shifting dung to pollinating plants. Some are fast and agile hunters, others trundle along at their own pace. They can be black or brightly coloured, plain or patterned. Find a love for beetles and there will always be something new to discover.
Ladybirds are probably our most familiar beetles – and also some of the most popular. They’re known as the gardener’s friend, as many hunt the aphids that occasionally feed on our prized plants. The classic image of a ladybird is the 7-spot, with seven black spots dotted across its bright red back. But there are around 47 species of ladybird in the UK, with a variety of different colours and patterns.
The ladybird lifecycle
As with butterflies, ladybirds have a four-stage lifecycle: egg, larva, pupa, adult.
The adults lay eggs, which hatch into young known as larvae. The larvae feed and grow in stages, casting off their exoskeleton to grow a larger one each time. These stages are known as ‘instars’ and there are four of them.
When the larvae are fully grown, they become pupae. They attach themselves to a leaf or other surface and turn into a hardened case – these often just look like a patterned blob. Within this case, they transform into adult beetles.
When the beetles first emerge from their pupae, they lack the familiar colours and patterns. It can take a few days for these colours to appear. These adult ladybirds will usually appear late in summer and spend the winter tucked away in crevices, ready to emerge again in spring.
Anatomy of a ladybird
To identify ladybirds, it helps to know a little about their structure. Studying the patterns on the three main parts of their body can help reveal which species you’re looking at. The first part is the head, which is pretty obvious. The second part is the pronotum, which is the broad section directly behind the head. The third part is the wing cases (known as elytra), which cover the bulk of a ladybird’s back.
Lots of ladybirds
Of the 47 or so ladybirds that live in the UK, only around 26 are considered ‘conspicuous ladybirds’. These are the large, colourful ladybirds that can often be spotted on plants. The other species are smaller, harder to find and harder to identify. Here are seven conspicuous ladybirds to look out for.
7-spot Ladybird
The classic ladybird, found in parks and gardens across the UK. It’s a large ladybird, usually 5-8mm long. It has red wing cases, with three black spots on each side and a seventh spot in the middle, just behind the pronotum. Look for it on low-growing plants.
Harlequin Ladybird
This Asian species first reached the UK in the early 2000s but is now common across England and Wales. It has also reached Scotland and Northern Ireland. It’s 5-8mm long, but comes in a confusing variety of colours and patterns. One helpful clue is that harlequins usually have reddish-brown legs.
One of the most commonly seen forms has orange/red wing cases with 15-21 black spots, and a whiteish pronotum with a black ‘M’-shaped marking. Another common form has black wing cases with four red spots. But more than 100 different colour patterns have been recorded!
Pine Ladybird
This small ladybird is widespread in England and Wales, with scattered populations elsewhere in the UK. It grows to around 4mm and is all black, with four red markings on its wing cases. The front two markings are comma shaped. As the name suggests, it is often found on the trunks and branches of pine trees – but it can also be seen on other species.
Orange Ladybird
This distinctive ladybird is found across the UK. It’s around 6mm long and orange all over, with 12-16 white spots on its wing cases. It feeds on mildew on leaves and is often seen around Sycamore and Ash trees.
14-spot Ladybird
This attractive little ladybird is widespread in most of the UK, though scarcer in Scotland. It’s around 4mm long and usually yellow with black markings. The wings cases have rectangular black spots that often fuse together to form lines. It’s usually found close to the ground, amongst grasses and flowers.
22-spot Ladybird
One of our brightest ladybirds, found throughout most of the UK but rare in Scotland. It’s a small species, around 3-4mm long. It has blazing yellow wing cases with 22 black spots. Like the orange ladybird, it feeds on mildew rather than aphids. It’s often found in meadows or on herbaceous plants in other areas. It’s apparently keen on Hogweed.
Eyed Ladybird
The UK’s largest ladybird, growing to around 8.5mm. It’s widespread in the UK, but not often seen. It spends much of its time in the canopy of conifer trees, particularly Scots Pine, hunting aphids. Its wing cases are dark red, usually with 15 black spots – though spots can vary from zero to 23. The spots usually have pale rings around them.
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Comments
That was really useful, both pictures and descriptions. I will keep it on my phone for future reference.
23 May 2024 10:54:00
Thanks for this article. I found it very interesting and informative.
23 May 2024 11:08:00
Very useful!! Thanks a lot.
23 May 2024 11:14:00
I have really found the article on ladybirds so very informative and so very interesting. Who would know that there were so different ones in the uk. Thank you.
23 May 2024 11:16:00
So useful and interesting. Thank you.
23 May 2024 11:21:00
I’ve recently seen many red but spotless ladybirds in sand dunes on the Gower peninsula in Wales, but been unable to identify them?
23 May 2024 11:29:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
When a ladybird first emerges from its pupal case, it is plain, with no spots. The spots appear over the next day or so, and once established the ladybird will have that number of spots for the rest of its life. Some less commonly seen species also can be spotless.
Really interesting. How many summers do they live for? How many eggs?
23 May 2024 11:33:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Ladybirds will live for about a year, with 2 to 3 months as an adult. Number of eggs laid varies between species, usually between 200 to 1000 eggs.
Thank you for this very helpful article on ladybirds. I will be keeping my eyes open for the different varieties whenever I am outdoors.
23 May 2024 11:53:00
I am amazed that there are so many ladybird s
23 May 2024 12:32:00
Fantastic info , which l shall share with my grandchildren . Pictures excellent also
23 May 2024 12:39:00
Are these native to Britain? Should we protect all these ladybirds?
23 May 2024 13:15:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
The Harlequin Ladybird featured in the blog is a non-native species, originally from Asia, but it is already widespread across Sussex and much of the UK
Thanks for this article. I found it very interesting and informative.
23 May 2024 13:15:00
I rarely see Ladybirds and would like to have them in my garden as they eat the aphids. Can you buy them?
23 May 2024 13:29:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Try building a bug house or have piles of sticks, leaves and vegetation in your garden, and hopefully Ladybirds will arrive
I am living in Canada at present and have noticed that one can smell the ‘Asian’ ladybirds. However, when we lived in Japan for a few years, it was rare to see a ladybird, and when we did, there was not the distinct ‘smell’ which was always evident for that variety in Canada. Every winter in Canada large swarms came into our house. Many varieties. They lived in/on the ficus tree or a citrus tree, and I tried to leave them small lids of water. Most of them died but we were able to free a ew in the spring.
23 May 2024 13:50:00
that was a really interesting article. I was aware of a few different lady birds, but not the number of different ladybirds and the variety of colours and home territory
23 May 2024 16:55:00
Many thanks. Very informative and helpful. In fact, spot-on!
23 May 2024 16:58:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
haha, very good
Very interesting. I didn’t know there were so many different ladybirds
23 May 2024 17:34:00
This is really useful. I had not realised there were quite so many. Some I have never seen but I shall be looking out for them now.
23 May 2024 17:39:00
Really interesting. I love ladybirds but had no idea there were so many varieties!
23 May 2024 19:10:00
Very informative, interesting and helpful. Thanks
23 May 2024 19:23:00
Thank you most interesting
23 May 2024 19:58:00
Great photos and descriptions. I have seen several of the different varieties in previous years but I have only seen one ladybird (7 spot) so far this year. So few pollinators this May.
23 May 2024 23:37:00
Is there such a thing as an all black ladybird as saw something that looked ladybird like on rhubarb
24 May 2024 06:00:00
Thank you for this very interesting and useful information. I will use it with my grandchildren when we go on nature walks at Woods Mill.
24 May 2024 06:50:00
Very interesting info. re ladybirds! I will look out for ladybirds on my allotment and try to photograph any that are not on this list.
24 May 2024 07:12:00
Excellent photos. I found them particularly useful for helping to distinguish the UK Eyed and Pine ladybirds from the Harlequins.
24 May 2024 07:45:00
Thank you . This was really informative and very easy to digest.
24 May 2024 08:23:00
Fascinating and such a useful article on the many beautiful ladybirds in the UK; thankyou!
24 May 2024 08:53:00
We run a small but environmentally friendly community garden in uckfield Sussex and it would be great to have a poster /information for our visitors .
24 May 2024 10:33:00
Fantastic info , which l shall share with my grandchildren . Pictures excellent also
24 May 2024 11:05:00
Really interesting thank you. I didn’t know there were so many species.
24 May 2024 11:07:00
Thanks for this article. I found it very interesting and informative with the comments made. I didn’t realise they were so short lived.
24 May 2024 11:09:00
So much new to me. Thank you.
24 May 2024 12:20:00
Thank you for this very helpful article on ladybirds. I will be keeping my eyes open for the different varieties whenever I am outdoors.
24 May 2024 12:30:00
Amazing. We need more awareness about our beautiful wildlife to remind us to preserve the breeding and feeding spaces they need. Great job
25 May 2024 07:56:00
More superb information from Sussex Wildlife Trust! Can you send us photos of some other species of ladybirds?
26 May 2024 10:45:00
Very interesting. I didn’t know there were so many ladybirds.
I was hoping to read about an ‘unwelcome’ ladybird which is supposed to be harmful to plants? Am I mistaken?
27 May 2024 07:12:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Many ladybirds are predatory feeding on aphids and, scale insects, they can help keep these insects under control. Other species feed on mildews and a few feed on plants but none cause serious problems in gardens.
Very interesting, many thanks! 🙂
27 May 2024 17:27:00
Loved this article. I’m so pleased I read the comments as well, it’s given me some more information I didn’t know. Pleased I signed up to this.
28 May 2024 01:34:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Thank you!
Very interesting and useful thank you
28 May 2024 16:45:00
Very informative articles, nice pictures, I never knew there are so many species of Lady birds and they eat harmful aphids. Absolutely brilliant article.
28 May 2024 18:22:00
Amazing! Precious little beetles. I never dreamt there are 4000 types of beetles in UK.
29 May 2024 07:53:00
Great piece of info,thank you.My parents had infestations of ladybirds especially around their large windows and big heavy curtains. We didn’t mind too much as it was a great game to amuse grandchildren,finding the biggest number of different patterns and colours!!Why do they
29 May 2024 12:37:00
Interesting, but how can one breed them and give them safety refuges against winter weather naturally in a domestic garden?
29 May 2024 19:38:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Hi Julian. This is an inspiring blog about how to create a garden that supports all wildlife: https://sussexwildlifetrust.or...
And here you can read more about what you can do in your garden https://sussexwildlifetrust.or...
When I moved into my new house in 2022 I found ladybirds everywhere around the crevices if the windows and French doors. This Spring they reappeared the lining on my bedroom curtains were covered with them. I have never ever experienced this before, I will save this article in so that I can identify the species.
31 May 2024 06:59:00
Excellent. Thanks
31 May 2024 10:46:00
What an excellent brief guide to some of our Ladybirds.. Marvellous to have such a resume . I shall now make a point of seeing if I can spot some of the variations listed. Thank you.
03 Jun 2024 06:02:00
Brilliant! My 6 year old granddaughter loves ladybirds. They are mainly on our broad bean plants eating the black flies. We found a black body with red spots which she found very exciting. Thank you
04 Jun 2024 07:27:00
Brilliant! My 6 year old granddaughter loves ladybirds. They are mainly on our broad bean plants eating the black flies. We found a black body with red spots which she found very exciting. Thank you
04 Jun 2024 17:55:00