A cheerful beetle with a vicious appetite, the 7-spot is our most familiar ladybird. They’re common in woods, parks and hedgerows, and a welcome pest control in gardens.
Common name: 7-spot ladybird
Scientific name: Coccinella septempunctata
Family: Coccinellidae
Habitat: woods, parks and gardens
Predators: birds, spiders, larger beetles
Origin: native
Adults: as the name suggests, 7-spots have seven black spots in a symmetrical pattern on their bright red wingcases. They have a black thorax (body), black head and white markings and spots on either side of the eyes. They are usually about 6-8mm in length.
Larvae: are brownish-grey in colour, with four pairs of bright orange splotches across their bodies.
Not to be confused with: other species of ladybird. The easiest way to identify them is to count the spots!
Credit: Leslie Newcombe / WTML
Both adults and larvae feed predominantly on aphids. They do eat other small insects too, but their appetite for aphids make them a favourite with gardeners. A ladybird can munch through 5,000 aphids during its year-long life.
Credit: Sabena Jane Blackbird / Alamy Stock Photo
Ladybirds usually mate from May, and between June to July females lay their fertilised eggs in bundles on leaves. When the larvae hatch, they feed on aphids until they are ready to pupate. They emerge from pupation as fully grown ladybirds.
In the past, people would eat ladybirds as they believed the yellow fluid they secrete was a good pain killer, and would cure toothache!
The 7-spot is common and widespread across the UK. It can be found on vegetation in parks, woods, gardens and urban areas.
The 7-spot ladybird hibernates during the winter months, resting in vegetation, hollow plant stems and garden sheds. You can spot it when it emerges in spring, usually from March to April, in search of food. They’re very common so look out for them in woods and urban areas.
Your first glimpse of a ladybird each spring could help scientists track the effects of climate change on wildlife.
Take part in our Nature's Calendar surveyThe name ‘ladybird’ comes from Christianity in which the ‘lady’ is the Virgin Mary and the red colour of the insect is her cloak. The seven spots are her seven joys and seven sorrows.
Credit: Pauline Smith / WTML
The 7-spot is the UK's most common ladybird and not a species of conservation concern.
