Easy to spot
Ladybirds mob Britain
Jolted out of winter doze ... ladybird
THE warm autumn has unleashed a ladybird bonanza in Britain.
Many more of the bugs than normal have been spotted across the country.
Experts believe the mild weather has jolted them out of their winter doze and convinced them it's spring — like the morning dew-covered ladybird above.
Unusually high numbers of the native seven spot and the distinctive orange ladybird have been seen.
The invading Harlequin species, which is originally from Asia, has also swept rapidly across the South after arriving here seven years ago.
Seven spot ... often found hiding in the cracks in fences or in leaf litter. Live for over a year, eating up to 5,000 aphids
Harlequin ... an invading species from Asia. Known to turn cannibal and devour other ladybird species
Two spot ... another British native, it is declining across the UK and Europe. Found in gardens and hedgerows
And it may have a thermal advantage because its bigger black spots attract more heat for its body.
Ladybird expert Dr Helen Roy, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, said: "It is opportunistic and very adaptable."
Most ladybirds become inactive in the autumn — often crawling into sheltered places like the cracks on window frames.
Dr Roy added: "If it is unseasonably warm, as it has been this year, they will start moving about because they have the thermal energy to move again."
14 spot ... a smaller species that also feeds on aphids. Found on trees and bushes and in nettle patches
Orange ladybird ... feeds on mildew. Traditionally confined to ancient woodland, but is widening its habitat
Cream spot ... increasingly being recorded across Britain. It is brown with cream spots and feeds on aphids
22 spot ... feeds on mildew and is often found living in meadows, grassland and tussocks
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