Harlequin Ladybird Survey news
| Summer Exhibitions |
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03/06/2009
The Ladybird Survey teams are very excited to have been selected for the Royal Society Summer Exhibition. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to highlight the work of the surveys and the phenomenal contribution you have made by submitting records. If you are in London from 30th June to 4th July please come and visit us.
On Saturday 4th July we will also have a display at the Insect Festival in York
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| Ladybird Workshop at Dinton Pastures - 21 March 2009 |
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03/03/2009
A ladybird identification workshop is being run by The British Entomological and Natural History Society at Dinton Pastures Country Park, Hurst, Reading on Saturday 21 March (10.30 to 16.00). Please inform Dr. Ian McLean, BENHS Indoor Meetings Secretary, (E-mail: ianmclean@waitrose.com) in advance to book your place.
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| A New Year's Resolution you can keep! |
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29/12/2008
Here's a New Year's Resolution that's easy to keep - counting ladybirds on or close to January 1st!
If you have ladybirds spending the winter in your house, we are particularly interested to know how many harlequins and how many native 2-spot ladybirds (a much smaller species) there are; these two species tend to overwinter in buildings. The ladybirds are likely to be sheltering in the corners of rooms, or around window frames, particularly squeezed into the hinges, or in gaps alongside draught excluding material. Please count up the number of each species that you see.
Please log records of such counts by clicking on 'All species records from a site survey' at UK Ladybird Survey and put 'OVERWINTERING COUNT' in the Comments section. Thanks for your help!
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| Large batches of harlequins needed |
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03/11/2008
If you have a group of over 20 harlequin ladybirds in your house (anywhere in the UK) we would be grateful to receive them. Specimens should be sent to the address below. You can put them in something like a camera film canister or other sturdy box. Do not include food or water, just a few bits of paper to protect specimens from buffeting. Thanks for your help!
Ladybird Research Group, University of Cambridge, 219d Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL.
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| The UK Ladybird Atlas needs YOU! |
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08/09/2008
The UK Ladybird Survey team is compiling an atlas of British ladybirds and is calling upon you to submit your records. Historic or recent records of any ladybird species, from anywhere in the UK, will be gratefully received. This data will prove invaluable to our survey, which aims to monitor changes in abundance and distribution of British ladybirds, and keep a close eye on the impact of the invasive harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, on our native species. Monitoring ladybirds has never been more important and we need your records by the end of 2008 please!
Please either log records online at
UK Ladybird Survey or send spreadsheets of records to: ladybird-survey@ceh.ac.uk
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| Harlequin arrives in N. Ireland and Scotland |
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19/12/2007
First verified records of the harlequin ladybird in N. Ireland and Scotland have recently been received. The Irish specimen arrived with produce from England and the Scottish ladybird appears to have been transported accidentally, also from England. Such mechanisms have undoubtedly led to a faster spread of the species in the UK.
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| What can I do about large numbers of harlequin ladybirds in my home? |
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05/11/2007
This is a problem without an easy effective solution. Harlequin ladybirds like to overwinter in or on buildings and can squeeze in through very small gaps around window frames etc. Trying to seal up gaps around windows may help. The ladybirds leave tiny chemical traces that attract others to the same spot, so if you remove ladybirds, cleaning thoroughly where they have been may help.
If you have very large numbers of ladybirds in your house (i.e. hundreds or thousands), your local council pest control department may be able to help. However, we have had one recorder report that she was charged £200 by her council who fumigated her house, with little if any effect on the thousands of harlequins that were cohabiting with her.
There is currently no effective control method that will only target harlequins. However, researchers in Britain and elsewhere are following several avenues to develop methods of controlling harlequin numbers.
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