Ladybirds in Hitchin Cemetery

Everyone likes a ladybird and we become familiar with them from an early age with Ladybird books being part of a lot of people's early years. The usual image of ladybirds is bright orangey-red with black polka dots. When we come across one they are generally happy to walk across your finger and allow close views and ladybirds and are regarded as gardener's friends as they eat aphids, what's not to like? Ladybirds are all over the cemetery and here are some lovely 7-Spot Ladybirds on my hand. 

There are actually around 50 species of ladybird in the UK and half are comparatively larger and "conspicuous" and the others are "inconspicuous", being really tiny. One species which quite a few people have heard of is the Harlequin Ladybird, this is an invasive species from Asia first spotted in England in 2004 and is now over the whole of the UK. Harlequins are vigorous feeders and out-compete our native species, especially the 2-Spot Ladybird which is hard to find these days. Harlequins can be tricky to identify as they come in an array of colour forms, here are a few from the cemetery...

 

   

 

Ladybirds have a life cycle which starts with an egg, then nymph, pupa and finally adult, examples of the stages are shown below.

 

In particular the Harlequin Ladybird nymph stage shown above has spiky armour like something from an action movie, I pity any aphid which comes its way.

The biggest British ladybird is the Eyed Ladybird, a spectacular beast which is rarely seen as it likes to live in Scot's Pine trees, luckily the cemetery has a few Scot's Pines and there is just one branch which is low enough for me to inspect...

 

Scot's Pines have their own special aphids and there are a number of ladybirds which find these tasty. Here are some Cream Streaked Ladybirds from the same tree, their name comes from the whitish edge to their wing case...

 

 

All insects have two pairs of wings, but in beetles the front pair have been hardened to form protective wing cases called elytra. When you see a ladybird take off you might notice that first it raises its elytra and only then flies away.

Another ladybird which likes Scot's Pines, but can be found elsewhere too, is the Pine Ladybird. This is quite small, but still counts as a "conspicuous" ladybird. It is mostly black with a small orange "full stop and comma" on each wing case. A photo on the right gives an idea of comparative sizes of the Eyed and Pine Ladybirds .

 

 

Another conifer specialist ladybird is the Larch Ladybird, this is somewhat dull compared to other species being mostly tan coloured. 

 

 

There are quite a few Larch trees with branches low enough to reach in the corner of the cemetery nearest Taylor's Hill, their cones in spring start out a wonderful purple colour and turn a gradually more Larch Ladybird-coloured as the season progresses.

  

There are eleven UK Ladybirds named after the number of spot they have: 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 22 & 24 and I have found seven of these in the cemetery (and am hopeful of at least one more in the future). Of those seven from the cemetery, in reverse order: here is the tiny 24 Spot Ladybird (although there happen to be less than 24 spots on this one), it is one of the smallest "conspicuous" species at around 3mm long and is found in the longer grassy areas, is vegetarian and is fond of Red Campion. Its scientific name, like most ladybirds, is a mouthful: Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata, the scientific names include reference in latin to the number of spots, and the name length of other species gets a bit shorter as the number of spots reduces. 

Equally small, but quite differently coloured is the 22 Spot Ladybird, also vegetarian and feeds on mildew. The high magnification in this shot just about allows the detail on the compound eyes to be seen, its scientific name is Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata. This is one ladybird which is true to its name and always has 22 spots.

The 18 Spot is a medium sized Ladybird and is yet another species which likes the aphids found in Scot's Pine, I popped this one on top of a gravestone for the photo shoot before popping it back where it came from. The scientific name is Myrrha octodecimguttata.

16 Spot Ladybirds are another of the vegetarians, feeding on pollen, nectar and fungi, and they are around 3mm long. The photo on the left is from the cemetery and the one on the right from Priory Park (the field nearest The Three Moorhens) was taken in August when the grass was full of them. The scientific name is Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata.

 

The 14 Spot Ladybirds look quite similar to the 16 Spots but slightly bigger at up to 4.5mm. They are big aphid feeders and are considered very useful to farmers, and my photo shows one on Wild Carrot. The scientific name is Propylea quattuordecimpunctata.

 

The 10 Spot Ladybirds are a challenge to identify as they are so variable, I 'think' the photos below are all 10 Spot Ladybirds. They are up to 4.5mm long and are another aphid feeder, scientific name Adalia decempunctata.

 

 

The following shot is of a 10 Spot Ladybird newly emerged, the light brown colour will deepen and maybe another two spots might develop, making a total of 10? It is typical of newly emerged ladybirds to spend a day or so changing colour.

7 Spot Ladybirds are about the most commonly seen beetles in the cemetery (and indeed in the UK). These are the classic gardener's friend eating greenfly and other aphids and are found on all sorts of plants, including Wild Carrot and Ivy as shown below. Scientific name  Coccinella septempunctata.

  

The Ladybird which I hope to find in the cemetery is the 2 Spot, I have found one nearby in my garden and several near The Three Moorhens, but it is rare and is no longer found in most of Hertfordshire, probably due to being out-competed by the Harlequins: there were a total of six Hertfordshire records in 2021. The photo below  (from The Three Moorhens) shows that it is slightly smaller than a 7 Spot. Its scientific name is also a bit shorter than some: Adalia bipunctata.

 

The last  "conspicuous" ladybird I've come across in the cemetery is the lovely Cream Spot ladybird, this one has 14 spots, but that name was already taken, however its scientific name refers to the number of spots Calvia quattuordecimguttata. This is yet another aphid-eater and is usually found in bushes and shrubs.

A stunning beetle I have seen in Hitchin, but not yet in the cemetery is the Orange Ladybird, this is another one with typically sixteen spots, and this shares the second part of its scientific name is shared with the 16 Spot: Halyzia sedecimguttata. This is likes trees and shrubs but eats mildew rather than aphids. 

 

 

Finally here are photos of some "inconspicuous" ladybirds, these beetles are tiny, not much bigger than a full stop and they are mostly brown or black. On the left below is a Four Spotted Nephus which feeds on scale insects, it was first found in the UK in Suffolk in 1990 and seems to be spreading slowly. On the right is the somewhat similar looking Angle-spotted Scymnus, yet another aphid-feeder which is found among thistles and grasses.

 

The final two inconspicuous ladybirds are closely related to each other and  feed on aphids. On the left  is a Round-keeled Rhyzobius which was first found in the UK in Surrey in 1996, likes ivy and seems to be gradually spreading through the UK. On the right is the Pointed-keeled Rhyzobius which has been in the UK rather longer and likes grassland.

  

 

St John's Road Cemetery provides a habitat for at least 17 different species of ladybirds and this is a strong indicator that it provides a wonderful habitat for all sorts of other wildlife too. The cemetery is sympathetically managed to include conservation areas and is a definite asset to Hitchin, especially in these times which have seen a dramatic fall in insect populations.