Wild Wednesday: Lady Birds Beetles

Or lady bugs if your American. As spring approaches and the weather is mild, the lady bugs are waking up. I went into the back yard (garden) and I couldn't believe how many were on the evergreens. I had to come inside to get my camera there were so many.

I have identified these as 7 spot lady birds, one of the more common species in England.

Here is a great web sight identification page for ladybirds.

http://www.ladybird-survey.org/downloads/Ladybird%20descriptions_Info%20pack_2006_v.1.3.pdf

With my science background and rural village life I have found a variety of citizen scientist opportunities. Ladybird-survey.org has a larvae ID page in addition to the adult ID page linked above. This has been the citizen scientist program I have had the most participation with as ladybirds seem to be the most common wildlife in the area.

The seven spot ladybugs are the ones I see most commonly, however on 2 occasions I have seen a tiny yellow ladybug which I have finally identified as the 14 spot lady bird. It is so little, I am sure it is slightly more abundant than my annual sightings may suggest, it is just very well hidden in the garden.

I even managed to get a video to go along with Wild Wednesday, hopefully I can get it to load by the end of the day!