The Ladybird thread (1 Viewer)

[Larry Sweetland]

Not a new one but a new experience: I found a Dot Ladybird by visual search for the first time today. Previous finds have all been using a net. This one was a surprise find on the underside of a leaf of a large willow tree along the Wye west of Hereford.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Presume fairly regular(NELondon), however I’ve not seen one before, some sort of Harlequin?

Cheers

Yes, looks like one 👍

 

[Larry Sweetland]

View attachment 1520597

Apps are saying kidney spot for this. Do any of you wise folks agree?

Not seen the larva before but sure looks like Kidney-spot to me. Don't think anything else is that spiky. Good find 👍

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I discovered yesterday that the pines around Beaulieu Rd station in the New Forest are a pine-specialist ladybird goldmine! 40 mins with a net produced a lifer (18-spot Ladybird), plus 5 Striped Ladybirds, a Cream-streaked Ladybird and an incredible 77 Pine Scymnus!

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Ladybird #36 for the year was a Heather Ladybird, at Upton Heath near Poole today. Only my 2nd ever Heather Ladybird, and found in the same area of pine-studded heathland as the other one last year.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Sweep-netting chalk grassland at Martin Down today produced a surprise Schmidt's Scymnus ( species #38 for life, and # 37 for the year) assuming I got the ID right. Images on UK ladybirds Facebook group.

Also found an Angle-spotted Scymnus, but few other ladybirds.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Highlights from ladybirding the dunes at Studland today were an 11-spot ("ringed" form), a Scarce 7-spot, eight Heather, one Red Marsh, five Striped, and six Pine Scymnus

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Just spent literally 5 mins in our small Bristol back garden tapping small fruit trees and honeysuckle into a small sweep net and it produced a Red-flanked Scymnus, a Dot Ladybird and a Forestier's Rhyzobius. Inconspicuous ladybirds are everywhere! If you're into ladybirds and haven't tried this yet give it a go!

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Two 18-spot ladybirds found in a pine in Greenbank Cemetery (Bristol) was new for patch today. Patch now on 30 spp.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

2 Bryony Ladybirds found in Benson, Oxfordshire today (#39, and 38 for year). In white Bryony along St Helen's Ave, on the south side of the rd, immediately to the right of the entrance to the allotments.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

To keep this thread going. 2 highlights from Upton Heath in Dorset today: Red-patched Nephus and Scarce 7-spot Ladybird

 

[creaturesnapper]

Encouraging signs at my local Nature reserve in Maple Cross , Herts , this morning .Lots of native Ladybirds , 20+ 2 spot , 12 ,7 spot, 2 ,14 spot , 2 Cream spot ,1 , 10 spot . Much more than recent years .Still lots of Harlequins of course.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Encouraging signs at my local Nature reserve in Maple Cross , Herts , this morning .Lots of native Ladybirds , 20+ 2 spot , 12 ,7 spot, 2 ,14 spot , 2 Cream spot ,1 , 10 spot . Much more than recent years .Still lots of Harlequins of course.

Good numbers of 2-spots. They're really scarce around me in Bristol. I've still not seen a 2-spot this year (and I've had 19 species on my local patch this year so far)

 

[Surreybirder]

Good numbers of 2-spots. They're really scarce around me in Bristol. I've still not seen a 2-spot this year (and I've had 19 species on my local patch this year so far)

Same here in Surrey. 2-spots are very hard to find. 10-spots are not common but I've come across a few.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

My first lifer of the year! This Red-rumped Scymnus was found on patch in Bristol, taking the patch list to 31 and my life list to 40 😊.

Great day out with the sweep net, with 16 species of ladybird found on patch between 9am and 1pm. Other notables included 8 Spotted Marsh Ladybirds, a Water Ladybird, 2 Eyed Ladybirds, and a Pine Scymnus.

 

[Euan Buchan]

Just seen my first Ladybird of the year.

 

[Andy Lakin]

How many ladybird species are on the British list? Fascinating stuff learning about all the different names I've not heard before.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Just seen my first Ladybird of the year.

Took me a while to see the red markings in this pic. Pine Ladybird presumably?

 

[Larry Sweetland]

How many ladybird species are on the British list? Fascinating stuff learning about all the different names I've not heard before.

Not sure how many are recorded, but there are approximately 49 species known to be established in the wild (I think!). This excludes one that's not been recorded for many years and includes a recent split that has an unclear distribution. Rarities occur too, eg there was a Pink Ladybird earlier this year (near Newcastle?) which is only the 2nd or 3rd record. I think it was even twitched by some!

There's not really a "site gen culture" (yet!) like there is with birds, dragonflies, and butterflies. And of course with some ladybirds, any gen would need to be extremely accurate to be of use! 😂. Unlike with birds, dragonflies, or butterflies where you might just pick one up by sight when flying around a roughly described location, it's possible to lose a ladybird completely before you've had an identifiable view, even when you know where you've dropped it! 😂

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Surprised to find a 2nd Red-rumped Scymnus today, and this time I managed a clearer pic (while in the field, and more by luck than judgement). It was a few hundred metres from the other one, in drier short-cropped mossy habitat at the edge of a housing estate on the other side of the M32 😊.