Coccinellidae - UK Ladybird Survey

UK Ladybird Survey

The ladybird atlas Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) of Britain and Ireland published in 2011 showed a decline of more than 20% in native species due to environmental changes and competition from foreign invaders. The distribution maps, compiled over a twenty-year period with help from thousands of volunteers, showed a decline in the numbers of the common 10-spot and 14-spot ladybirds and a number of other species including the 11-spot, 22-spot, Cream-spot, Water and Hieroglyphic ladybirds, Coccidula rufa, Rhyzobius litura and Nephus redtenbacheri. Conversely, increases were seen in the numbers of Harlequin, Orange, Pine and 24-spot ladybirds as well as Rhyzobius chrysomeloides. The Kidney spot ladybird was recorded in Scotland for the first time in recent years, probably due to climate change, and the once-extinct 13-spot was found to have recolonised Cornwall, Devon and the New forest. The most commonly recorded species was the 7-spot, closely followed by the Asian Harlequin — an invader that arrived from continental Europe in 2003 after being introduced to control pests. An 'explosion' in the number of Orange ladybirds, which feed on mildew, is thought to be have been due to the warmer damper conditions that now prevail in parts of England.