The classic image of a ladybird is the 7-spot (header image), with seven black spots dotted across its bright red back. But there are around 47 species of ladybird in the UK, with a variety of different colours and patterns. Of these, only around 26 are considered ‘conspicuous ladybirds’. These are the large, colourful ladybirds that can often be spotted on plants.  The other species are smaller, harder to find and harder to identify. Find a love for beetles and there will always be something new to discover!

The 7-spot ladybird is our classic ladybird, found in parks and gardens across the UK. Easily identifiable, 7-spot ladybirds have red wing cases, with three black spots on each side and a seventh spot in the middle. The bright colours of ladybirds warn predators that they taste horrible, although some birds will still have a go!

Adults hibernate in hollow plant stems, sometimes clustering together in a large group – which is why leaving your dead or drying winter foliage rather than chopping it down can provide some vital shelter in the colder months. You can also create additional shelter for ladybirds by building a bug hotel in a quiet corner of your garden.

Did you know not all ladybirds eat aphids? Some ladybirds, like the orange ladybird and 22-spot ladybird, feed on the mildew on leaves instead – another reason to encourage ladybirds into your garden if you have a particularly damp spot. Orange ladybirds are bright orange with white spots, and the 22-spot ladybird is blazing yellow with black wing spots. 22-spot ladybirds are particularly partial to hogweed or cow parsnip, so are often found in meadows, verges, waste grounds and railway cuttings where hogweed grows: so although some of these areas might not seem very wildlife-friendly, they’re actually surprisingly vital!

One of the most invasive insect species in the world, harlequin ladybirds only reached the UK in the early 2000s and took less than 10 years to spread across the entire country. Harlequin ladybirds pose the greatest of any threats to our native species because of their ability to out-compete our native species for aphid-prey, as well as eating other ladybirds' eggs and larvae. They can also have multiple broods throughout the spring, summer and autumn, helping them to overwhelm our native species by sheer numbers.

Harlequin ladybirds also come in a dizzying variety of colours and patterns, although they are commonly seen with either black wing cases and four red spots, or orange/red wing cases with 15-21 black spots. Sadly there are no control measures for harlequin ladybirds which do NOT also target native species – so the best way to help our native species is to make your garden as ladybird-friendly as possible!