Summer ladybirds

I enjoyed looking for ladybirds in the winter but they turn out to be even more interesting in summer.  At this time of year the last winter adults have died off and we can see larvae, pupae and newly emerged adults.  I can't show them all but here are a few that have caught my eye recently.

Striped Ladybird.  A larva, a pupa, and a newly emerged adult from Havannah Nature Reserve and a mature adult I found a few weeks ago on the roundabout at the end of my road.

Pine Ladybird.  A larva and a pupa from Havannah and an adult from the Spetchells.

Eyed Ladybird.  A larva from Hepple and a pupa and newly emerged adult from Havannah.

Cream-streaked Ladybird.  A larva and a pupa from Jesmond Old Cemetery.  This was a hot spot for hibernating ladybirds in the winter but obviously some are there all year round.

Larch Ladybird.  A larva from the Spetchells and a new adult from Jesmond.

Heather Ladybird.  A larva and an adult, both tiny and both from Hepple.

While looking through the branches of Scots pines I saw quite a few empty mummies of Scots pine aphid nymphs (Cinara pini) like this.  They have been attacked by a parasitoid wasp.

And here's an interesting finding.  A 14-spot Ladybird larva lunching on a smaller 14-spot larva.

10-spot Ladybird.  A larva and two new adults from an oak tree in my garden and a newly emerged decempustulata form from Hepple.

22-spot Ladybird.  A larva from my garden and an adult I found on the bathroom wall.

The best finding of all was my first 11-spot Ladybird (Coccinella undecimpunctata) at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

And a new species for the garden, a tiny Rhyzobius litura in my meadow, one of the so-called inconspicuous ladybirds, this one 2.5mm long.

It is amazing how many ladybirds there are around now that I am learning how to find them and how to identify them.  I'll keep an eye out over the summer for any more I can find.