JOIN THE 2-SPOT LADYBIRD SURVEY!

The distinctive and popular ladybirds are beetles belonging to the family Coccinellidae, with over 5000 species worldwide. There are 46 species of this family in Britain, but only 26 are easily recognizable as ladybirds with their bold patterns of bright colours - the rest are rather small and dull in colour.

Most ladybirds are predators, eating aphids, scale insects and other sap-sucking insects, which is why they are so popular among gardeners and farmers. The bright colour patterns of many ladybirds serve to warn their own predators - such as birds - that they taste unpleasant: ladybirds produce a foul-tasting yellow fluid when they are attacked or disturbed.

One native UK ladybird is the 2-spot ladybird, Adalia 2-punctata (see image below)

Entomologists are concerned that this once common species could be in decline, particularly in places where the invasive harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, occurs.

Visit the UK Ladybird Survey site at www.ladybird-survey.org to record your sightings of the 2-spot ladybird and to find out how your own ladybird sightings – especially during National Insect Week – can help our scientists to understand and protect the 2-spot ladybird.

How to recognise a 2-spot ladybird
Length: 4 – 5 mm
Colour: Most are red with two black spots

The beetles (order Coleoptera) are the most diverse and successful group of animals in the world. It has been estimated that, out of every three known species of animals, one of them is a beetle; and there are more species of beetles than there are species of plants. Visit our Beetle Gallery to see different types of beetles.