Lots of Ladybirds these past few weeks

You're having an irruption, Onlooker.   The first for a while methinks   I think my last one was 2009, but we have thousands this year too.

No bees here for months not one

I haven't seen any Ladybirds. I have got a very large amount of a Whitefly type of thing, so many that all the cobwebs are fully loaded with them !

No ladybirds here either, I can't remember the last time I saw one. Also a distinct lack of bumble bees and butterflies as well this year for some reason. As far as caterpillars are concerned I think they must be extinct in my neck of woods

Plenty here but not this many though

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/harlequin-ladybirds-attack-invasion-ladybug-united-kingdom-infest-houses-native-species-pest-a8571671.html
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Hate to say the same things chaps but sadly you will realize its true but its Chemtrails killing Bees and other insects, remember not so long ago in summer driving and the windscreen covered in dead inserts? Just doesn't happen now does it!

Oh for gods sake give it a rest you angry demented headcase.

Ah the only guy who never seen a Chemtail,get yer head out of you A$$ and look up,and the only bloke who hasn't noticed there isn't any bees,"Just Checking" FFS hes having a laugh

Strangely today i saw loads of ladybirds at work today, was a very warm clear day.

Ahh ibrahim that's the pinpoint nature of the chemtrails you see

They release the chemtrails in huge amounts at extremely high altitudes everywhere so they obviously disperse to an even doze, but the EFFECT is only in some areas. It must be coordinated by the G5 death rays

A lot of harlequin ladybirds being reported in the south of the UK ,invasive badtids ,think they have white bits around head ,these are what are being reported in swarms and can give a nip when pissed off .Spray emm with a solution of washing up liquid and water ,they don’t like it up emm .        The lack of insects in general is due to highly efficient pesticides ,climate change and change in farming practices ,ffs the stubble used to lie all winter ,now it lies a week .Up here in the  north of UK it’s been a big year for bees ,butterflies and insects in general ,never seen so many and never seen so many berries on the trees ,been a brilliant growing year all after such a cold and late wintry blast in spring .Hopefully the sign of a recovery ,every chance it’s going to be a proper winter ,one thing I did notice was plenty wasps .

breadnbutter - excellent and rational post.  Mind you, you have proper farming up there!!  I am in mid Sussex and all the evidence is that the honey crop is excellent this year. Been a brilliant year here too for butterflies (and moths) and the season has been unusually long (weather presumably) - Four Brimstones (three males and one female) in my orchard today, never ever seen ONE in October, and still lots of the usual late suspects. Agree re berries; lets hope we get a proper winter even down here.

Is it ****, none of his posts are excellent. They're harmless to humans so why kill them ffs.

you also might end up killing our own ladybirds which are in decline and it's easy to confuse the 2 species.

In Gateshead there have been mutterings of much reduced insect life all over the borough and without doubt in my locality bees,wasps,ladybirds,moths,butterflies and crane flies have been way down in fact I haven't seen 1 ladybird here,only small crane flies and just had the outside light on very little flying about.
This is indeed a contrast to Northumberland where I spend lots of my spare time have seen butterflies almost daily and usual amounts of insect life and bird life,the villages are far more alive than here.

I was in Northmberland 3 years ago, Stcoksfield. Absolutely beautiful. Sadly it was for my sister's funeral.

Pass through/by nearly every day spend a fair bit of time just over the river at Bywell,plenty nice places that neck of the woods kenny good place to live for sure.

Cheers Blackburn ,there are plenty of proper farmers ,unfortunately there is a massive problem up here ,slowly it’s being exposed ,a big fake food scam that’s destroying pristine  environments ,vulnerable ecosystems being devastated .                                                                                             The pressure is growing ,this guy nails it so very well .                                                                                                                                        https://m.facebook.com/Corin-Smith-Inside-Scottish-Salmon-Feedlots-533364700...

You might like to take a look at that link Kenny ,don’t think your crew come out very well at all .

Well the only salmon I buy that's fresh is wild salmon from Morrisons, breadnbutter, but they only get 1 kilogram allocated to them 2-3 times a week. It's wild alaskan salmon.

Denzil, brother-in-law is a member of Stocksfield Golf Club and still plays at 81.His brother opened the bowling for Yorkshire in late 50s. Christopher Harland Wood. The funeral reception was held there.

Smar Tarse  09 Oct 18 17:43
I haven't seen any Ladybirds.

Well i was just sitting in me garden checking the inside of my eyelids for a minute, when something landed on my neck, it looked like an Harlequin Ladybird ( didn't have my reading specs )

Yes - They are, apparently, Harlequin Ladybird - a relatively new species to Britain that have only been noted here since  2004

They originate from Asia, and some parts of North America.

A darker Orange with more black markings than the Ladybirds that we recognise from our childhood.

Apparently, they look to hibernate in/around the relative warmth of  houses as winter approaches - unlike regular Ladybirds which hibernate in trees and dead leaf clusters etc.

They must be popping out for a top-up of late sunshine - so will probably disappear after today, when we lose this better weather.

Get used to them - as they carry a Ladybird STD - that is deadly to our old-fashioned Ladybirds - so, just as the Grey Squirrel has decimated the Red Squirrel population - and the larger birds have often seen off sparrows and Tits - these Harlequin blighters will probably do the same to good old-fashioned bright orange Ladybirds.

I spent a couple of hours doing a bit of gardening in the sunshine today and I didn't see any insects, not one. Lots of snails though, they seem to be thriving but not anything else which is quite alarming

I love snails, I feed the cat biscuits. They can devour one in a few hours.

I'll send you a crate full of mine kenny, I've got hundreds of the critters!

ok, snail mail?

Last time I saw a ladybird was on the Benny Hill show.

Again at work today i got swarmed by ladybirds,hundreds of them and lots of different colours too. Plus i have just hoovered 5 up at home.

One landed one me today. Stubborn critter he was on me for ages.

Even saw a few late bees, having their own little octoberfest.