VC40Ladybirds 🐞
@vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
570 followers 42 following 430 posts
Ladybird CR for Shropshire - co-author of 'Micro ladybirds of Britain and Ireland: https://shorturl.at/gXsQp and Micro Ladybirds of Shropshire guide: https://shorturl.at/DivpW #VC40Ladybirds
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vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
A surprise dark 16-spot LB (Tytthaspis 16-punctata) with a standard one, Hippodamia variegata (Adonis LB) with Rhyzobius lophanthae (Bristly LB), Clitostethus arcuatus (Horseshoe LB) from ivy above G. Celandine and Stethorus pusillus (Dot LB) amongst others! #VC40Ladybirds #MicroLadybird
vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
Another day, another Dot! Just because! Stethorus pusillus from lunchtime today (when the sun shone briefly)! #VC40Ladybirds #MicroLadybird
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edibleeyebrows.bsky.social
Ladybirds taking shelter
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lesleylovesnature.bsky.social
24-spot ladybird on a grass leaf, which is typical for them. #WildWebsWednesday
Orange and black spotted ladybird on some grass
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vc40orthops.bsky.social
A Pine Ladybird being dwarfed between two f. spectabilis Harlequin Ladybirds, found today in an oak tree (there were lots of Larches & Yews around too) in north Shropshire. Similar but also rather different!
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applewildlife.bsky.social
The number of Harlequin Ladybirds hibernating in my kitchen went up yesterday: 18 late morning, up to at least 54 by evening. I usually get 2- and 7-spot Ladybirds hibernating in my study and Harlequins in the kitchen but this is more than usual.
A clutser of Harlequin #Ladybirds resting between the vent and the ceiling above my kitchen window.

The ladybirds show a mixture of colour forms, mostly orange with black spots (some larger spots than others, some with few or faint spots).  A few are black forms with two or four red spots.

#hibernation A larger group of Harlequin Ladybirds in the same place as in the last photo.  They're covering themselves up so it's hard to get an exact count but I reckon there are at least 54 visible (if only just).

#UKBeetles #UKInverts
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ukceh.bsky.social
Have you seen lots of ladybirds flying around? Maybe some have come into your house?

At this time of year, ladybirds are moving around looking for a good place to spend the winter. On warmer, sunny days, large numbers may be seen flying in search of a suitable habitat 🐞

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ajcann.bsky.social
Red Marsh Ladybirds, Coccidula rufa.

#Beetles #Coleoptera #VC55 #macrophotography #macro #OMSystem
Red Marsh Ladybirds, Coccidula rufa.
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jeremybartlett.bsky.social
Lots of Harlequin Ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis, at Bodney church Norfolk, this afternoon.

These were inside the church but there were masses outside too.

#Ladybirds
Lots of Harlequin Ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis, inside a church. Lots of Harlequin Ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis, inside a church. Lots of Harlequin Ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis, inside a church. Lots of Harlequin Ladybirds, Harmonia axyridis, inside a church.
vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
Not a good shot by any means, but I just love the refraction of the hairs on this Dot Ladybird (Stethorus pusillus) making all colours of the rainbow, and giving little star bursts too! At lunchtime today in Shropshire #VC40Ladybirds #MicroLadybird
vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
Blustery Sunday in Shrops: Adalia bipunctata (2-spot LB) under pine bark, Coccinella septempunctata (7-spot LB) + Rhyzobius chrysomeloides (Arboreal LB) + Nephus quadrimaculatus (Ivy LB), 7-spot + Stethorus pusillus (Dot LB), & Scymnus interruptus (Red-flanked LB) pair #VC40Ladybirds #MicroLadybird
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tillingtonchum.bsky.social
It’s a while since we’ve seen a 2-spot Ladybird. This one was found on Monday between the boards of a picnic table.
#ladybirds #ento #UKwildlife
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wildlifetom.bsky.social
A windswept walk around Retford Cemetery yielded six species of shieldbug and six species of ladybird, mostly clinging to metal railings. Eyed Ladybird was a nice surprise!

#Coleoptera #Hemiptera
An eyed ladybird, with pale rings around its black spots, clings to a metal railing A pine ladybird clinging to a railing. It’s an all black ladybird with red markings on the wing cases A parent bug on a laurel leaf. It’s a reddish-brown bug with a black and yellow chequered pattern around the edge of its body A green shieldbug clings to a metal railing, with a few 7-spot ladybirds nearby
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vc40orthops.bsky.social
Three species of micro ladybird seen recently at an organic farm in South Shropshire: a pair of Meadow Ladybirds (Rhyzobius litura); a female Red-rumped Ladybird (Scymnus haemorrhoidalis) and a Red Marsh Ladybird (Coccidula rufa).
Meadow Ladybirds, showing some variation in their markings Red-rumped Ladybird Red Marsh Ladybird
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sarahsramblings.bsky.social
Beautiful sunshine in Suffolk yesterday and ladybirds galore. A tiny Adonis almost missed, lots of plants hosting a 7 spot and my first 24 spot of the year! #WildWebsWednesday #ladybirds
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andrew-jewels.bsky.social
A Red-flanked Ladybird (Scymnus interruptus) flanked by a pair of much larger 7-spot Ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata), all tapped out of a Euonymus shrub in my Waltham Abbey garden a couple of days ago. #EssexWildlife #UKLadybirds #InconspicuousLadybirds
Two 7-spot Ladybirds with a tiny Red-flanked Ladybird between them, all sitting on a pale canvas background
vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
That's really interesting! Thanks Andrew.
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vc40orthops.bsky.social
A recent trip to an organic farm in South Shropshire produced epic quantities of 16-spot Ladybirds from grass tussocks. A sign of oncoming winter I presume, as they congregate to se out the dark days. The sound of them cascading into my beating tray was quite impressive!
vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
Yes, they are! Here's one with a 2-spot, and a larger 7-spot, though the 7-spot can vary considerably too! If they don't eat much as larvae, they develop into smaller adults (without taking into account the fact that females are generally larger as well) #VC40Ladybirds
vc40ladybirds.bsky.social
Many of the Rhyzobius lophanthae (Bristly LB) I've been finding this year have been quite small! Is it due to the large numbers of them, meaning less food to go round? Here's one with Nephus quadrimaculatus (Ivy LB) & R. chrysomeloides (Arboreal LB) last week. #VC40Ladybirds #MicroLadybird