Full Version: Friend Or Enemy?
Hi all, Just been inspecting the veg tent ( due to springtails) and came upon a little Blac and Red Ladybug!! ..................Should i be worried?
Yeah those are the one iv got m8
It is a Harlequin ladybird then, they have been invading the country for a while now,
"The ladybirds are the most successful invading species in Britain and can now be found as far north as Leeds. They are likely to be seen in greater numbers this winter as their colonies grow. There are now thought to be billions in the country.
They invade homes, emit awful smells, stain surfaces and damage walls and curtains.
The insects, which only arrived in southern England from Asia via Europe five years ago, eat other young ladybirds and other insects.
Harlequins, bigger and spottier than native ladybirds, caused a plague like invasion of Cromer, Norfolk, in August when they turned the streets orange.
They force huge numbers of themselves into tiny spaces and produce a foul yellow chemical when threatened, which stains any surface and smells like nail varnish.
Duncan Sivell, bio-diversity action manager for conservation trust Buglife said: “Harlequins group in homes and people will see a lot of them at one time - we could be talking hundreds of thousands.
“They can cause damage by getting into nooks and crannies. They will go into places where wallpaper is coming away or the carpet is lifted, and might go inside curtain hems.”
Expert Dr Helen Roy, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said: “Harlequins have spread by a staggering 100km (60miles) a year across Britain. There are quite possibly billions here now and we’re getting reports of people’s homes being invaded.
“A couple of ladybirds is nice - but from a nuisance perspective, they congregate in such large numbers and secrete yellow defensive liquid if disturbed, for example when opening a curtain or blind.
“This stains surfaces and leaves marks and we get an awful lot of calls about the smell, which is like nail polish remover.”
“Harlequins have big appetites and will consume other ladybird larvaes while they are alive - not dead - and caterpillars, lacewings and a whole range of insects,” she said.
“The two-spot ladybird is now declining and we are worried about the Harlequin’s effect on other smaller ladybirds.
“There are parallels with what happened to red squirrels, with greys arriving and becoming a successful species.
“But Harlequins have spread more quickly than the grey squirrel every spread, and there’s no doubt Harlequins are the dominant ladybirds.”
Do your bit and report it
http://www.harlequin-survey.org/
then kill the wee fecker
"The ladybirds are the most successful invading species in Britain and can now be found as far north as Leeds. They are likely to be seen in greater numbers this winter as their colonies grow. There are now thought to be billions in the country.
They invade homes, emit awful smells, stain surfaces and damage walls and curtains.
The insects, which only arrived in southern England from Asia via Europe five years ago, eat other young ladybirds and other insects.
Harlequins, bigger and spottier than native ladybirds, caused a plague like invasion of Cromer, Norfolk, in August when they turned the streets orange.
They force huge numbers of themselves into tiny spaces and produce a foul yellow chemical when threatened, which stains any surface and smells like nail varnish.
Duncan Sivell, bio-diversity action manager for conservation trust Buglife said: “Harlequins group in homes and people will see a lot of them at one time - we could be talking hundreds of thousands.
“They can cause damage by getting into nooks and crannies. They will go into places where wallpaper is coming away or the carpet is lifted, and might go inside curtain hems.”
Expert Dr Helen Roy, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said: “Harlequins have spread by a staggering 100km (60miles) a year across Britain. There are quite possibly billions here now and we’re getting reports of people’s homes being invaded.
“A couple of ladybirds is nice - but from a nuisance perspective, they congregate in such large numbers and secrete yellow defensive liquid if disturbed, for example when opening a curtain or blind.
“This stains surfaces and leaves marks and we get an awful lot of calls about the smell, which is like nail polish remover.”
“Harlequins have big appetites and will consume other ladybird larvaes while they are alive - not dead - and caterpillars, lacewings and a whole range of insects,” she said.
“The two-spot ladybird is now declining and we are worried about the Harlequin’s effect on other smaller ladybirds.
“There are parallels with what happened to red squirrels, with greys arriving and becoming a successful species.
“But Harlequins have spread more quickly than the grey squirrel every spread, and there’s no doubt Harlequins are the dominant ladybirds.”
Do your bit and report it
http://www.harlequin-survey.org/
then kill the wee fecker
Thanks pal, well im off to find the fecker and kill it...........................but if i cant find it i assume it won't cause any damage to the plant just my house 
.........I can deal with that .........thanks
.........I can deal with that .........thanks
ladybirds will eat any pests which eat your plants ya should leave it in!
sounds like they will take over like the gray squirrel did. so if we see them should we kill em?
Aye, report them to this site too
hxxp://www.harlequin-survey.org/
hxxp://www.harlequin-survey.org/
There have been millions of ladybirds about in the last few days - they have invaded my kitchen, and set up camp in the corner.. I seem to have a wide selection, and a few all red spotless ones - I haven't seen those before..
Hughies photo looks like my windowsills.. Mine are harlequins too then.
I thought they had either too many spots, or not enough.
I reported them, but I won't kill them though - I don't think it will do any good now. Unless they produce stinking yellow nail varnish everywhere, in which case they'll get the hoover.
Hughies photo looks like my windowsills.. Mine are harlequins too then.
I thought they had either too many spots, or not enough.I reported them, but I won't kill them though - I don't think it will do any good now. Unless they produce stinking yellow nail varnish everywhere, in which case they'll get the hoover.
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