A
loveliness of ladybirds
Ladybird,
ladybird, fly away home,
Your
house is on fire and your children are gone,
All except
one and her name is Ann,
And she has crept under the frying pan.
Look carefully and you can see a reflection of our house in the beetle's shiny wing case - apex of roof at middle spot!
Every summer, ladybirds (Coccinellidae) from Europe visit UK shores, to swell resident populations. This year there has been a veritable invasion. The last significant incursion was in 2009, when hot weather caused a glut in the numbers of aphids and a consequent rise in the ladybird populace.
However, the present invasion is akin to the astonishing 1976 influx, and even caused a pause in the cricket. ‘Ladybirds stopped play’ is not something we’re accustomed to hearing. The cricketers on Day One of the Third Test match between India and England at Lord’s cricket ground, were not impressed when a loveliness of ladybirds invaded the pitch. Play was stopped for seven overs (an over is a set of six bowled balls) towards the end of the day’s play. Bear in mind that ladybirds bite. Their bites may be minor, but can be irritating. Several attacking at once might not be very pleasant.
In spells of hot weather, insects regenerate more quickly. Ladybirds are to be encouraged and welcomed, as they are rapacious predators, particularly of aphids, mites, and scale insects. Each ladybird larva can consume around 350 aphids daily, so they are valuable visitors to gardens and farms.
Ladybirds are known as an umbrella species because their presence or absence indicates the health of the overall ecosystem. They are also an important part of the food chain, providing sustenance for birds, arachnids, and amphibians.
They are not primarily pollinators, though they will feed on pollen and nectar. In particular, they like flowers such as yarrow, marigolds, and nasturtiums. They are also attracted to herbs including thyme, parsley, and fennel.
Since 2004, invasive Harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) ladybirds have become a threat to native ladybirds. Harlequins are bigger, eat more aphids more quickly, and reproduce quicker than native ladybirds. They also eat the eggs and larvae of ladybirds, moths, and butterflies, thus upsetting the natural balance in Nature.
They come in many patterns and are attractive creatures. It is to be hoped that the two species – native and invasive – can eventually cohabit. It is probably a vain hope.
A charming yet sobering reflection, revealing how the beauty of ladybirds conceals the quiet struggle for ecological balance unfolding upon their delicate wings.
ReplyDeleteThey are just beetles by another name, but so attractive in their bright colours.
DeleteLovely post. I love ladybirds. Here in the US they are called Ladybugs, not quite as nice.
ReplyDeleteThey always make me smile - I love to see them.
DeleteWhat a delightful and informative post! I had no idea a group of ladybirds was called a "loveliness" so charming! Fascinating how they help balance ecosystems. Let’s hope native and Harlequin ladybirds can find a way to coexist peacefully
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend my friend
Thank you, Asep.
DeleteWhy does there always have to be an "invasive" type of any insect at all? I think mother nature made a mistake there. I haven't seen more than one ladybird at a time for many months here.
ReplyDeleteExtreme weather results in extreme reactions. It usually balances out when the weather becomes more normal, though what 'normal' is these days is anyone's guess.
DeleteWe even have a mini invasion up here... to a much lesser extent. I had to be very careful at bowls practice not to squash the ones on the green.
ReplyDeleteFlying ants are currently the nuisance here. Great for the birds though.
Flying ants are one thing I cannot abide. They always seemed to coincide with me having a high temperature and sore throat when I was a child. Great for the birds, though, as you say.
DeleteI've been told that flying ants are usually newly hatched queens looking for a suitable place to start a nest.
DeleteSadly I've not seen many ladybirds in our garden, we do have loads of ants, which have started flying, luckily for us not near our seating area.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, flying ants soon pass, but I hate them.
DeleteI remember the ladybird influx of 1976. I've seen a few around this year but nowhere near those numbers, they were everywhere. I didn't know that ladybirds bite.
ReplyDeleteTheir bite is not painful, but you do know you've been nipped. They're not particularly aggressive, though.
DeleteI really see a native ladybug. The invasive Asian ones that they brought in years ago sometimes cover our house like a crust.
ReplyDeleteThat must be quite a sight. Bringing in non-native species seems such a good idea at the time . . .
DeleteHere ladybirds are often associated with love and luck. For me, not so much - because of a memory from early childhood, when some other not-so-friendly child put a handful of them down the back of my neck (under my jumper or whatever I was wearing)... So I for one would very probably panic if I happened to find myself in a whole swarm of them!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nasty thing to do. Why do some children do such unpleasant things?
DeleteMost interesting. Towards the end of last year, the beginning of summer, we had an invasion of ladybirds. You can order a delivery of them online to help with your annoying thrip infection that may damage your delicate rose.
ReplyDeleteIs there anything one cannot order online these days? It's very helpful - we've even ordered pond fish online.
DeleteI remember a few years back when we had a huge amount of these everywhere.
ReplyDeleteNumbers do fluctuate year by year.
DeleteI like ladybirds because they are well designed, colourful and don't have hundreds of legs going in different directions. Spiders, on the other hand, are ugly.
ReplyDeleteI don't like spiders, but close-up photographs of them reveal what intricate creatures they are, often with striped legs. Tiny spiders, like crab spiders, are actually rather sweet.
DeleteI call them Ladybugs and they always seemed such gentle easy going insects.
ReplyDeleteNot so easy-going with their prey. President Johnson's wife was called Lady Bird from childhood - Ladybug wouldn't have seemed quite so attractive.
DeleteWe have ladybugs, which I guess are like your ladybirds, but they are redder it seems. In later years we have more orange ones, and we don’t look upon them so kindly.
ReplyDeleteThey are the same thing by a different name. The colours do vary, but I usually see red ones.
DeleteI haven’t seen a ladybird in a very long time. I didn’t know much about them other than that they like aphids. Thanks for all the info.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. 😊
DeleteWe have an abundance of them here, although they are Asian beetles which have an awful odor when killed and they also bite.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nuisance. Bringing in something to deal with them would probably cause further problems.
DeleteInvasive species are a problem
ReplyDeleteThey are, whether they're plants, insects, animals.
DeleteI read recently that harlequins are not as terrible as people once believed. I think the hope is now exactly that -- that they can coexist with native species.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that I read that somewhere, too. Let's hope so.
DeleteA loveliness of lady birds (bugs). Charming name for a bunch of them. We get an influx of them in the porch in October when we get some very warm days
ReplyDeleteI think it's a lovely collective name.
DeleteI didn't know ladybirds bite. We get a few when the weather is cooler. I've often let one settle on my hand. Never been bitten though
ReplyDeleteIt's not a vicious bite, happily.
DeleteI knew that the ladybird(bug) pupae bite but I didn't know that when fully grown they can bite too.
ReplyDelete🐞🐞🐞
DeleteThe collective noun for a group is cute.
ReplyDeleteI like it, too .
DeleteI had no idea that ladybirds could bite ... Thankfully so, as I wouldn't have been as tolerant to the colonies which overwintered in my childhood bedroom :-) xxx
ReplyDeletePerhaps when they're overwintering they're too sleepy to bite. Were they large colonies? 🐞🐞🐞
DeleteI remember there being dozens of them! xxx
Delete😟🐞🐞🐞
DeleteI rather like that Ladybird windmill :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I like garden windmills - this was from when my grandson was living with us as a little boy.
DeleteGot plenty of aphids, but nary a ladybird. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any aphids - yet! - and only two ladybirds so far, one of which was very small.
DeleteMy black lab is named Laydee but she has little nicknames and one of hers is Laydee Bug or just “Bug” so I have a soft heart for Ladybugs. 🐞
ReplyDeleteAww! It's funny how we develop nicknames for our animals.
Deletemr B has spoken of that 1976 invadion and biting ladybirds. I didn't beluwve they bite and thought he was exaggerating it. I'll have to spligize to him. He hasn't mentioned it yet this year.
ReplyDeleteIn 1976 I was teaching in a classroom that had one entire wall of glass - it was ghastly!
DeleteI do love seeing ladybirds in the garden and they are always welcome visitors. I didn't know about their bite though.
ReplyDeleteYour ladybird windmill is very cheery and made me smile.
It's hard to think of such bright little creatures as beetles.
DeleteI didn't know ladybirds bit!
ReplyDeleteIt's not life-threatening.
ReplyDelete