Lady Bird
Quick facts
Common name: Lady Bird.
Scientific name: Two-spot ladybird - Adalia bipunctata / Seven-spot ladybird - Coccinella septempunctata
Length: Two-spot ladybird: up to 5 mm long - Seven-spot ladybird: up to 8 mm long
Colour: The most familiar have bright red wing cases with black spots, while other common species such as black and yellow ladybirds, white and brown ladybirds, or even striped ladybirds.
Lifespan: Up to 1 year
Origin: Native
Information
Adult ladybirds and larvae feed on aphids and small insects
Among the best-known and most well-loved beetles, ladybirds (also known as ladybugs) are easy to recognise. The most common species are the two-spot and larger seven-spot ladybirds, although about 26 other types can also be found in the British Isles.
Ladybirds are brightly coloured, warning predators of their bitter taste, which helps survival. They are also able to exude a pungent fluid to ward off ants, birds and people.
In winter adults hibernate in cracks, crevices and leaf litter and emerge in April to find a mate. Females lay eggs that hatch after about four days, depending on the temperature.
The steely-blue larvae with creamy-yellow spots do not resemble the adults.
They eat aphids voraciously, up to 5,000 aphids in their lifetime