Seven-spot Ladybird
The Seven-spot Ladybird is a very familiar and widespread in the UK. They are small round beetles with three and a half spots on each of their two elytra (wing cases). The thorax is black with two white marks at the side and the head is small and black.
The Ladybird's bright colours are a warning to predators of its foul taste. When disturbed the Ladybird will secrete small amounts of its oily foul-smelling yellow blood from its legs as a further warning to predators such as ants or birds.
They inhabit gardens, woodland, hedgerows and meadows and have a varied diet of small insects but favour plant-lice and aphids. They are known as the gardener's friend as they eat garden pests. The average Seven-spot Ladybird will eat more than 5,000 aphids in its year-long life.
Ladybirds will hibernate in large groups in sites which are used year after year. In the main breeding season during May and June, mating Seven-spot Ladybirds are a common sight in hedgerows and gardens. In her short life, a female may lay more than 2,000 small yellow eggs.
The name Ladybird comes from the Middle Ages when the colourful insects were known as the "beetle of Our Lady". They were named after the Virgin Mary because in early religious paintings she was often shown wearing a red cloak. The 7 spots symbolise 7 joys and 7 sorrows.
Date: 12th June 2020
Location: Noak Bridge Nature Reserve, Noak Bridge, Essex
The Ladybird's bright colours are a warning to predators of its foul taste. When disturbed the Ladybird will secrete small amounts of its oily foul-smelling yellow blood from its legs as a further warning to predators such as ants or birds.
They inhabit gardens, woodland, hedgerows and meadows and have a varied diet of small insects but favour plant-lice and aphids. They are known as the gardener's friend as they eat garden pests. The average Seven-spot Ladybird will eat more than 5,000 aphids in its year-long life.
Ladybirds will hibernate in large groups in sites which are used year after year. In the main breeding season during May and June, mating Seven-spot Ladybirds are a common sight in hedgerows and gardens. In her short life, a female may lay more than 2,000 small yellow eggs.
The name Ladybird comes from the Middle Ages when the colourful insects were known as the "beetle of Our Lady". They were named after the Virgin Mary because in early religious paintings she was often shown wearing a red cloak. The 7 spots symbolise 7 joys and 7 sorrows.
Date: 12th June 2020
Location: Noak Bridge Nature Reserve, Noak Bridge, Essex
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Also in: Insects, beetles, spiders, etc.
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