halloween lady beetle

...so, tomorrow, November will be upon us and this evening is All Hallows' Eve, an occasion that, surely, requires a spooky image or, at the very least, something relevant. Read on.

In the UK we have 46 resident ladybirds, but this isn't one of them. The Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis was introduced to North America in 1988, where it is now the most widespread ladybird species on that continent. It has already invaded much of north western Europe, and arrived in Britain in the summer of 2004. It has been described as the most invasive ladybird on earth, and its presence here has the potential to jeopardise many of our indigenous species. The Harlequin Ladybird Survey is monitoring its spread across Britain so, if you see any, please report your sightings!

For information on our native species see the UK Ladybird Survey website.

The Harlequin Ladybird is known by many different names but, in North America, where it often invades homes in October in preparation for hibernation, it has become known as the Halloween Lady Beetle...