Well, it’s arrived – the Harlequin ladybird has turned up in Carmarthenshire. Whilst a gain of a new species of ladybird in the county may seem a cause for celebration, it is not so with this unwelcome, introduced and predatory Asian species. It was recorded it in a light trap set out for moths at Pwll, just west of Llanelli one evening this summer, on the same night it was also recorded on Gower, indicating that there must have been an influx of this strongly dispersive species. Subsequently, two other records have come to light – at Llanelli and inland at Brechfa – the latter reported in a previous Carmarthenshire Biodiversity newsletter. The spread of this species – it was first recorded in south-east England in September 2004 – is being charted by the Cambridge Ladybird Survey. Readers can visit their website as well as related sites such as one set up to monitor the spread of this ladybird www.

There are actually over 40 species of ladybird (most of the UK species) known in Carmarthenshire and many are easy to identify – some like the 5-spot by simply counting the spots! Until the late 1980s the 5-spot was feared extinct in Britain, but in the spring of 1986 it was discovered on river shingle (its preferred habitat) at Llanwrda in the Tywi Valley; almost simultaneously it was found on a river near Aberystwyth in Ceredigion – not bad for a species that had last been seen in the Spey Valley in Scotland in 1953! Later, a record by the pioneer Carmarthenshire naturalist, Dafydd Davies of Rhandirmwyn, came to light – on the Bran near Cynghordy back in 1974. This species is best looked for on gorse, broom or other plants on shingly rivers in spring or summer.

Unlike the Harlequin, there are other more benign species that have colonised the county in recent years such as the beautiful cream-streaked ladybird, which occurs on pines, whilst others such as the orange ladybird (orange with ivory markings and attracted to kitchen lights!) have become more common. Back in the 1980s, the latter was very local, specialising on feeding on mildew under leaves of sycamores growing in damp woodland; now it is much more frequent.

Whilst some species such as the common 7-spot, 10-spot and 2-spot are familiar garden ladybirds, others are more localised, like the hieroglyphic (which is found on areas with heather), the eyed ladybird (on pines) and the aptly-named water ladybird, which is typically found on areas of bulrushes (this species can be found hibernating in winter behind the leaf-sheaths of that plant).

Ladybirds are a nice group to study and there are a range of books and charts available, so why not take up this group in 2009? For example, an inexpensive chart is published by the Field Studies Council (A Guide to the Ladybirds of the British Isles by Michael Majerus et al. 2006. £2.50) and the excellent Ladybirds of Surrey published by the Surrey Wildlife Trust which covers nearly all of our county`s ladybirds in some detail. If you would like a brief summary of Carmarthenshire ladybirds is available via Isabel Macho, Biodiversity Officer ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )