With the first signs of spring they start to appear. The warmth stirs them out from their hiding places and these hungry little predators begin their work of hunting down their prey. Their prey are no match for this hunter and whole colonies can be devoured within hours. Without the ladybird we would surely be infested with aphids ruining our crops and plants. If the bee does an invaluable job pollinating, then the ladybird does an equally important job defending plants and crops.
There are 26 types of ladybird in the UK. The common myth children are taught is that the number of spots on a ladybirds back indicates it's age. In fact each number of spots indicates usually a different species. This is not always the case though. For example the ten-spot ladybird can have up to 15 spots on it's back. The eighteen-spot can have between 14 and 18 spots. It's even more difficult with the harlequin ladybird. There are over 100 different types and variations of spots, colours and size.
The harlequin in particular is considered invasive. It's not native to the UK and came from Asia originally. It was imported into the USA and Europe as a biological pest controller on farms. It's bigger and lives longer than our native ladybirds and is more efficient at large scale pest control. It soon made its way across the Channel and is now out-competing our own ladybirds for food. The harlequin larvae are bigger than our native species as well. Ladybird larvae have no problems with eating other ladybird larvae if aphid supplies are on the low side. The smaller native ladybird larvae are no match for the harlequin larvae.
Animal Days Out will be rearing our own ladybirds this summer and we will let you know how we get on.
Find Out More with the
Ladybird Fact File
Written by GMP from Animal Days Out
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