After their slow start this year, Harlequins are around with a vengeance. There are some railings near my local park literally covered on larvae, pupae and adults, presumably all need to emerge as adults before the winter sets. When my daughter came running to show me a ladybird I though it would be another harlequin. But it was instead a very nice surprise: an Eyed Ladybird,
Anatis ocellata, the largest ladybird in the UK
. This species is associated to conifers and there are not many in the park so it appeared a bit misplaced.
Eyed Ladybird
2 comments:
'Ladybirds of Br and Ireland' states that 'the eyed ladybird is one of the few British sp whose larvae are able to overcome and consume harlequin ladybird larvae'.
I found an Eyed ladybird twice on sites without conifers. Both were feeding on 'sugary bait'(molasses boiled in wine/beer) I put out for moths.
A direct impact of moth baiters in habitat change for eyed ladybird? An interesting hypothesis to test!
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