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The garden · Beetles
Seven-spot ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
A small, round, red beetle with seven black spots: three on each wing case and one shared across the middle.
- Size
- 5 to 8mm long
- Look for it
- March to October
- Where
- Gardens, hedges, parks and nettle beds all over Britain
My spotter's list
Walks after you, and flies when you get well ahead. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the ladybird
SpotsAlways seven
A seven-spot keeps its seven spots for life. The number tells you the kind of ladybird, not how old it is.
AppetiteA greenfly's worst enemy
One ladybird can get through around five thousand aphids in its lifetime.
DefenceIt bleeds on purpose
If something grabs it, yellow fluid oozes from its knees. It smells and tastes vile.
ColourRed means do not eat me
Birds learn that the bright red coat goes with a nasty taste, and leave ladybirds alone.
YoungThe larva looks nothing like it
A young ladybird is a bristly grey-blue grub with orange patches, a bit like a tiny crocodile.
WingsWings folded like a map
The flying wings are far longer than the body, and fold up neatly under the red cases in a split second.
The real thing
Photos of the ladybird
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Check nettles, roses and broad beans, anywhere greenfly gather. On a sunny day in early spring, look on fence posts where they sit to warm up.
Lend a handHow to help
Leave greenfly alone for a week or two before reaching for a spray: ladybirds usually arrive and do the job.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
Pond and stream bugs live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond and stream
The log pile
After dark
Bugs from other parts of the world live on their own pages: choose another.
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