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Ladybirds 4 stage cycle and which species you are more likely to spot in the UK.
There are 46 species of ladybirds now resident in the UK.
Ladybirds feast on aphids, also known as plant lice - greenflices, blackflies and white flies.
Ladybirds go through a 4 stage life cycle, much like the life of a butterfly.
The egg stage - A female ladybird will lay between 10 and 15 eggs, often on the underside of a leaf, somewhere safe, away from predators and the harsh weather. Picked wisely as the larvae will need to find food near or on this leaf later down the line.
The larvae stage - The eggs hatch and the larvae will gradually start to come out and look for food, mainly consisting of tiny mites and aphids. After a few days they will begin to molt (shed their skin).
The pupa stage - The larvae will grow for a couple of weeks and then develope into what looks like a small maggot or shrimp. It will then appear to sleep for up to 3 days, but what is actually happening is metamorphosis into a ladybird.
Adult ladybird stage - When metamorphosis is complete the larvae will divide nearly into two, and the larvae will slowly start to look like a ladybird is supposed to.
There are 5 main ladybirds commonly seen in Britain, and funnily enough they are not all red!
The Orange Harlequin ladybirds were imported into the UK from eastern asia as a form of pest control, which was banned in 2004, but they are now widespread all over the UK.
The Seven spot ladybird is the most common of the native species, it is a large ladybird at 6-8mm, and yes it does have 7 spots. It is also a popular species with the farmers as its main form of food is aphids which suck the sap out of plants.
Black Harlequin Ladybirds once again arent british yet they take up a 25% of the ladybird population in the UK.
14 Spot Ladybird is one of the smallest ladybirds at just 4mm, they believed to be in steep decline but proved us wrong in the 2010 UK ladybird survey. Their is a wide variety in their markings so is mainly spotted due to its size.
Two spot ladybird are either red with two black spots or black with two red spots and then two blobs on their shoulders. these ladybirds are widespread but most at risk from harlequin ladybirds, due to their size.
Happy ladybird spotting.
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