Strange Creatures, Ladybirds
Today as I went back to my home in Norbiton Hall, Kingston upon Thames, I noticed in the hedge which borders onto the public pathway, some what we in the UK call "ladybirds", an insect belonging to the scientific family Coccinellidae.
On closer inspection, they did not look correct. OK, they were red with black spots, but the usually shinny smooth shell covering the wings was dull and wrinkled, plus the head is not quite correct, there were not the usual white spots.
Are they the common ladybirds, could they be pupating? Do lady birds pupate?
Then I spotted other "bugs" which looked similar, but they were long and did not have the characteristic hard shell. The backs looked like pineapples with triangular sections and hair.
What is going on here? Help please.
Is the bug attacking the ladybird?
Typical Ladybird, hard shell, big white spots on head.
Does a ladybird pupate?
Is this a ladybird larvae?
What is this Bug? Is it related to the ladybird?
The two "bugs" seem to be one.
After some research and feedback, I have an answer, see the article Ladybirds the Answer.
What an unusual looking critter!
Did you send a copy of the pics to Kew? they should be able to shed light on it.
By the way, I was in email contact with Shan Veillard-Thomas today and she asked after you.
Jill
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Dear Phillip
Thank you very much for your ladybird photo(s). You have correctly identified the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis. This is a valuable record for our survey.
You may like to know that we now have confirmed records of the harlequin from many sites across southern England, East Anglia and the Midlands. Further north there are a large number of records from Derbyshire and Cheshire and some from Staffordshire, Humberside, Lancashire, Yorkshire and county Durham. The harlequin has reached Wales, with records from Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. There are now also isolated records from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
If you would like to download a colour ladybird identification sheet, please click on the link at this website page
http://www.ladybird-survey.org/UKladybirds/UKladybirds.htm
Thanks again and best wishes
Peter Brown
UK Ladybird Survey
email: harlequin-survey@ceh.ac.uk
website: www.harlequin-survey.org
Biological Records Centre
CEH Monks Wood
Abbots Ripton
Huntingdon
PE28 2LS
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