Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Sunday 27 June 2010

March of the Harlequins

You may have heard of Harlequin Ladybirds and how they may threaten our native 7-spot Ladybirds (just like Grey Squirrels wiping out our native Red Squirrel from most of Britain). If you would like to play a part in the research you can supply data to the Harlequin Ladybird Survey. On the web site there are detailed descriptions and photographs of how to identify a Harlequin Ladybird at all stages of its life-cycle.

I filled in a survey form on Friday, I had seen adult Harlequin Ladybirds in our house over the winter and had seen then in the garden this spring, last week I spotted the larva on a peony leaf . . .


Close up, you can see it's a dramatic looking beast! Covered with branched 'spines' and is dramatically coloured blue-black and orange.


So, if you're sitting in a garden with a G&T or a cold beer or dead-heading the roses, take a minute to look out for Harlequins and record your sighting on the on-line survey.

3 comments:

  1. Think I've seen the larva too, but didn't realise what it was. I know now though thanks.
    Su

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for these pics, I've been wondering what to look for, they are not in my insect book. So far, so good, but I'm not holding my breath. Not endearing, like the native ladybird ...

    xJoanna

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting, as I've just been thinking about this in the last few days. My garden is full of harlequins (adults) and I've only seen one native ladybird in the last few months. I was wondering if I should be worried ...

    ReplyDelete

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