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Description:The 7-Spots are approximately 5-8mm in length. They have three and a half spots on each of their two elytra (wing cases). The thorax is black with two white marks at the side, and the head is small and black. Larvae have lumpy grey-blue skin with yellow spots at the sides of their abdomens. Seven-spots are widespread and common in Britain and Europe. They inhabit gardens, woodland, hedgerows and meadows and have a varied diet of small insects but favour plant-lice and aphids. Known as the gardener's friend as they eat garden pests - the average seven-spot will eat more than 5,000 aphids in its year-long life. The 7-Spot, as with other ladybirds often hibernate in large groups in sites which are used year after year. It is thought that pheromones are released by hibernating ladybirds which attract others to hibernate in the same place. Ladybirds can be seen piled on top of one another while hibernating, the advantage of this is perhaps that less heat is lost, increasing their chances of surviving the cold of winter. In the main breeding season, May and June, mating seven-spots are a common sight in our hedgerows and gardens. In her short life, a female may lay more than 2,000 small yellow eggs, providing she has plenty of aphids to feed on.
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Pictured left: Top: Adult Ladybird Middle: About to fly! Bottom: Larva flower, flowers, wild, wildflowers, countryside, daisy, daisies, sea, mayweed, seeds, gardening, lawns, shrubs, trees, flowers, cultivate, garden, hedgerows |
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