10-Spot Ladybird

Adalia decempunctata

Date First Recorded in the Garden: 03/06/2021

Family: Coccinellidae: The Ladybirds

Known as Ladybugs in the US, Ladybirds are a familiar family of beetles called Coccinellidae with around 6,000 species known worldwide. According to the Field Guide to the Ladybirds (ref 1), there are 47 species resident in the UK. Most are carnivorous, feeding mainly on aphids.

It is important to note that the elytra (the casing we typically think of as red, yellow or black protecting the wings), is very variable (polymorphism) and can make identifying species confusing. Males and females are similar, females typically larger.

10-Spot Ladybird – Adalia decempunctata

A species with very variable markings, the most variable of our native species. There are several forms, ranging from those showing the 10 spots to the one pictured above showing none. The above form is known as ‘bimaculata’.

In the Garden

2021 was, it seems, a good year for ladybirds in the garden, with 2023 being okay, but 2022 saw very few of any species. Overall, we find this a little surprising due to the sheer numbers of suitable adult feeding opportunities in the garden, including the hazel, which is often overrun with aphids. The 10-Spot Ladybird is predatory on aphids

Ref 1: Roy. H & Brown. P (2018): Bloomsbury Wildlife Guides: Field Guide to the Ladybirds of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd