ladybirds – friend or foe?

In the war on plant pests, it’s infinitely better to allow Nature to give you a helping hand rather than reaching for the nearest insecticide to zap all and sundry.

The ladybird is a great ally to have on your side, instantly recognisable from its bright red and black spotted wing case. The ladybird larva is just as useful in terms of hoovering up the dreaded aphid and its many different cousins.

However, there is an imposter in town – the harlequin ladybird.

This new intruder arrived in the UK in 2004 and has spent the last 20 years trying (and succeeding) to out-eat the menu of our native ladybird. It has also been tucking into the eggs and larvae of butterflies and other small insects – including, shock horror, cannibalising our native ladybird.

While original fears have not spelt the Armageddon originally forecast, the harlequin lady bird has settled into rather more of a bully-boy lifestyle.

The difference between the adults is perhaps easy to judge on size – if it’s either black with red spots or a much bigger red with black spots then it’s a harlequin. But, can you tell the difference between a harlequin larva and our UK native?

Auntie Planty’s Gardening Club for January is a good place to start

When: Thursday 4 January 2024
Where: on Zoom so you don’t have to leave the house
Cost: absolutely free
The Key to get in: https://bit.ly/3GYl6ty

If you cannot make this one, join Auntie Planty on Thursday 1 February for another fact filled gardening masterclass