Ladybird dormancy

1 WHERE DO LADYBIRDS GO DURING THE WINTER?

It is a tricky time for ladybirds in winter – not only are the cold temperatures far from ideal but food is scarce. So they take the fading light and falling temperatures as a trigger to find a sheltered place to become dormant. Some species opt for burying themselves under leaf litter and others disappear into bark crevices. A few species favour buildings as their preferred winter hideout; harlequin ladybirds form large groups in the corners of window frames from autumn onwards.

2 WHY DO LADYBIRDS SPEND WINTER IN LARGE GROUPS?

Ladybirds come together in aggregations ranging from a few individuals to thousands during winter. Using chemical signals to find one another, they huddle to create a suitable microclimate, but also because their bright colours, warning predators that they taste unpleasant, are collectively very showy. As spring approaches, ladybirds begin to stir – they will not see another winter, but their offspring may return to the same place using chemical messages left behind by their parents, which signify this was a suitable place to spend winter.

3 WILL DIFFERENT SPECIES OVERWINTER TOGETHER?

In most cases, groups of ladybirds are dominated by one species, but it is not uncommon to see a few interlopers. Two-spot ladybirds are sometimes seen nestled within aggregations of the much larger harlequin ladybird. In the spring and summer, harlequin ladybird larvae will feed on immature two-spot ladybirds, but all ladybirds spend winter in the adult stage so are not vulnerable to attack (well, at least not from other ladybirds, but they do have to contend with fungal diseases and other parasites).