I found a couple of these ladybirds this weekend. Cream-spotted ladybird is found in parks and woodland around deciduous trees, over-wintering as adults in the leaf-litter and under bark. Like other ladybirds they predate aphids.
Despite Parent Bugs being common in Birch trees, this is the first I’ve found in the garden. Smaller than the birch shield bug and less boldly marked, this bug usually has a dark mark on the scutellum (back), which is missing on this individual, nonetheless I believe it is this species. Parent bugs are so-called as the females care for the eggs and young nymphs into the early summer (the males having already died off).
The two-spotted ladybird is one that I don’t see very often either, despite it being a common species.
This appears to be another good year for 7-Spot Ladybirds, with plenty around the garden. The smaller ladybirds take more finding. I do find the yellow 14-Spot Ladybird fairly regularly, but this is only my second Pine Ladybird (the first being during the short warm spell back in March this year)
There are not so many insects around now as we move into Autumn, so it’s good to look again at the common ones which are present. Spiders, like this large Garden Spider, are still hunting a last meal. These garden spiders die off in the Autumn, the next generation surviving as eggs over the winter to hatch in the spring. Ladybirds hibernate as adults. Most years we get a lot of Harlequin Ladybirds around the walls of the house on sunny autumn days, though this year there seem to have been less of them than previously and more of the native 7-spot ladybirds. Earwigs are also on the lookout for somewhere to hibernate - apparently they can often burrow deep underground to pass the winter, or like this male, come into the house seeking a cozy corner in which to hide out.
Aside from insects there have been some good birds around, but tough to get photos. The first fieldfare of winter was in the trees at the bottom of the garden, as were a couple of lesser redpolls that joined the goldfinch flock. Migrants included a male blackcap taking berries one day and a drop-in grey wagtail that visited the bare veg patch. A pipistrelle dodging the rain drops this evening might well be the last I see until the spring.
After seeing my first 10-spot ladybird last month, I found my first Cream-spot Ladybird Calvia quatuordecimguttata, #515). As mentioned in an earlier blog it seems a very good ladybird year, as there are a lot of ladybird larvae and pupae all over the garden. This Cream-spotted Ladybird was in the Hazel trees I planted a few years back and am trying to coppice. There’s no shortage of aphids in there, so plenty of food.
#515 Cream-spot Ladybird (Calvia quatuordecimguttata)
While there’s many less insects around than this time last year, a bit of sunshine helps. Birch Catkin Bugs are plentiful, but this Deraeocoris flavilinea flower bug is one I only found once last year. This flower bug is a relatively newly arrived non-native species that was first recorded in UK in 1996, but it seems finds our gardens to its liking and has spread to much of the country..
I added a couple of new species for the list in the last week or so. The first is a Broad Centurion (Chloromyia formosa, #508) soldier fly that was attracted to the yellow front door. The other a new ladybird, the 10-spot Ladybird (Adalia decempunctata, #512), which comes in regular black spots on red, but also various other colours including this dark brown & cream combination. There seem a lot of ladybird larvae around this year (as well as lots of aphids), so maybe it’s going to be a good ladybird year.
So far this spring I’ve seen several Seven Spotted Ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) and Fourteen Spotted Ladybirds (Propylea quattuordecimpunctata) - got to love those Latin names. The Asian Harlequin Ladybirds have not been present, so it’s been nice to see the native species. The small brown bug looks like Epuraea aestiva, joining the pollen beetles on the head of a dandelion.
A nice selection of multi-coloured Harlequin Ladybirds (#124) coming out in the afternoon sun to look for a place to hibernate. Amazing that these Asian Ladybirds only got established in UK in 2004, because they are now all over the place, and in numbers.
Among the ladybirds, a Scentless Plant Bug (Stictopleurus punctatonervosus), species #357 for the list. This grassland species is also a fairly recent arrival, this time from Central Europe. Starting out from the Thames Valley, it’s now spreading out across Southern England.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target was 1000 species, which I eventually hit in June 2024. But there’s still plenty to see and learn about.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
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