These little spotted beetles are looking for a comfortable new home for the winter – and it could be yours.
In Britain, ladybirds become dormant and hibernate over winter. 'On warm early October days many ladybirds will be seen flying around in search of a winter habitat,' said Prof Helen Roy of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
While the native seven-spot ladybird typically hides under leaf litter, the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) is more likely to enter homes. Arriving around 2004, harlequins are mainly in the south-east but spreading to the Midlands. They can be red or orange, and despite concerns about parasites and diseases, experts say they pose no risk to humans. 'It's a fungus that grows on the exoskeleton and we don't have one of those, and we don't have sex with ladybirds,' said Max Barclay, senior curator of beetles at the Natural History Museum.
Ladybird numbers are expected to reach an equilibrium as parasitic wasps begin to prey on them.
