"Look at this lot," said my partner, ushering me out to the cherry tree. The tree has leaf curl and aphids, and these have attracted ladybirds, but ones that looked nothing like I'd ever seen before. I sent a photo up to a website run by ladybird expert Paul Mabbot (http://www.ladybird-survey.org) and he told me that they were Harlequin ladybirds, the invasive foreign species that first arrived in Britain in 2004 and is replacing our cherry red and black native species. Every stage of ladybird development was happening before our eyes on the cherry leaves: pupa, hatching, spiky grub and fully grown ladybird. They are not nearly as pretty as the familiar British insect and I'm wondering what is the best way to wipe the beasties out.
2 comments:
Unpleasant looking things, are n't they? Not seen any in my garden yet. Mind you, there aren't many ladybirds of the normal kind to be seen. I have seen a couple of the tiny yellow ones.
I actually found a good old traditional English ladybird today. Why is it that the foreign invaders are always stronger than our native species? Is it 'cos ours have been resting on their laurels for thousands of years and haven't needed to evolve as there wasn't any competition?
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