Cyn's Nature Notes: Ladybirds

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Ladybirds

We have been enjoying an exceptionally mild spell of weather for this time of year, the result is a profusion of ladybirds - many hundreds coating the white walls outside.

I seem to remember a few years ago I was at once charmed by the vast numbers of strange ladybirds in the garden, and almost immediately concerned because of the reports of these European insects invading our shores. It was thought that they would over run our natural ladybirds and even eat them, fortunately this doesn't seem to have happened.

We have had very few ladybird sightings in the garden this summer and those we have had have all been our natural ladybirds. However the last few days I have been amazed at the numbers I have seen, they collect on the white walls and windows and are a very mixed bunch with almost as many of our native species as there are foreign - where have they been all summer?

I do feel reassured that perhaps the danger to our native ladybirds is not after all as great as was feared, certainly I have witnessed no aggression between any of them and have not seen any of ours devoured by their cousins - I hope this proves to be the case.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.