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Ladybirds, Butterflies And Warm Weather !

louise1

By louise1

54 comments


I finished work at lunchtime today and have spent the afternoon pottering around, planting some bulbs and generally having a relaxing time.

The weather’s warm and sunny here and this afternoon it’s been 20 degrees and …. there are Ladybirds everywhere !!!

I don’t think i’ve seen this many in a small garden for a couple of years.
There’s always quite a lot here in my gardens but this afternoon it’s crazy infact it’s getting annoying because they’re getting in my face, hair and everywhere ….. not nice (wrinkled nose).
When they’re like this it’s a bit like having flying ants everywhere :-(

There are Butterflies too !!!
Peacocks and Painted Ladies …. loads of ’em !
Flitting over all the plants – herbaceous and shrubs !

I wonder if there’s a lot of food here for them or have local warm temperatures caused a breeding frenzy ?

Anyway, they’re all welcome !
I’ve got the next week off so it’s a happy, happy mood here :-)))

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Comments

 

Lovely butterflies Louise!....we have had lots of ladybirds this past month or so....but they have not been getting in my hair....
A week off....lovely......enjoy:)))

23 Oct, 2009

 

Lovely blog louise and great photos.we are having a mini heat wave here as well, isn't it great to still be enjoying gardening weather at this time of the year,I haven't noticed the lady birds though but we're still getting butterflies

23 Oct, 2009

 

Peeing it down, up here, river upto the level of the garden, fields flooded, an 80+ year old farmer swept away into the river yesterday ( not our river, I mean the Don ) whilst trying to rescue cattle in distress......and he's not been found so I think it's curtains for him.....

Please send a bit of sunshine up our way....we need it.

;-(

23 Oct, 2009

 

Thanks girls :-)

B, that's very sad news about the farmer :-(((
I'll send some warm sun up straight away :-)

23 Oct, 2009

 

Sorry you are getting lousy weather in scotland Bscott. I'L waft a bit of sun over for you. it really is lovely here. mind you rain is forcast for tomorrow hey ho.

23 Oct, 2009

 

Lovely pics. :o)

23 Oct, 2009

 

Gorgeous Lou !!!!! Blue skies in Brum as well ! :-)) (I've already talked about the farmer on another blog.....Bless x)

23 Oct, 2009

 

Lovely pictures Louise,we've also had very warm weather
and I've been pottering in the garden feeding the birds and cleaning up after hoggies. I haven't seen hardly any lady birds this year.
Enjoy your week off.

23 Oct, 2009

 

Lovely here today as well, in London - and tons of ladybirds on my balcony, but not like you've had Louise - they'll be indoors if they get a chance - last year I kept finding them in the house during the winter.
I was in Norfolk at beginning of August and went to Sheringham for the day - terrible plague of ladybirds, had to have glasses on and something over your mouth to breath. There was a man with a yellow teeshirt in front of me and you couldn't see the teeshirt at the back, it was completely covered in ladybirds. We left fairly quickly....

23 Oct, 2009

 

But they do eat affids Bamboo !!! lol (Is that spelt correctly ?)

23 Oct, 2009

 

Lovely blog Louise, Yes loads of ladybirds here in Surrey. I went to a friends house today and the front door was covered in them amazing it is obviously a general thing.
Sorry Sue can I butt in, it's aphids.

23 Oct, 2009

 

Thankyou Doctor Bob !! I knew it was wrong, just got my p's in the wrong place !! (Not for the first time !) lol :-)))

23 Oct, 2009

 

That's ok Sue, hope you didn't mind me butting in.

23 Oct, 2009

 

Is that why they say mind your p's and q's, Sue...?'-))

23 Oct, 2009

 

DoctorBob ... I don't mind at all ! The way I look at it is that I don't know everything ... and .... if someone can help me learn, well ... thankyou ! (How long I'll remember at my age though might be another matter !! It's a girl thing Bob ! lol)
Bamboo ... hello ! ..... Never really minded much at all !! haha Are you well ??

23 Oct, 2009

 

Such a great photo of a ladybird under the purple bloom

23 Oct, 2009

 

Thanks Victoria :-)

23 Oct, 2009

 

Am I well, hmm, that used to be such an easy question to answer! Yea, I'm okay, thanks, Sue, you sound pretty chipper yourself.;-)

23 Oct, 2009

 

Think you must have all our ladybirds! I've not seen ONE single one this year.

They always remind me of those Dinky toy cars we had when we were kids, trundling along.

23 Oct, 2009

 

Its been very mild here too today Louise I have also noticed how many Ladybirds seem to be around.

23 Oct, 2009

 

If you have too many ladybirds Louise, maybe you could direct some of them across the Bristol Channel towards my garden. I haven't seen one for quite a number of years.

23 Oct, 2009

 

That's odd, Hywel, when the East of the country has been over run this year, wonder why?

23 Oct, 2009

 

None up here either! And the weather's cold very wet & windy!
Lovely blog!

23 Oct, 2009

 

Fantastic clear photos.............

23 Oct, 2009

 

I haven't seen any ladybirds today but I did see a couple of bee's on my giant Hebe!

23 Oct, 2009

 

Now how come that only a few miles up the coast Louise has ladybirds, and I haven't?? I want some. too! Moan, moan. :-((

23 Oct, 2009

 

I've seen a few ladybirds this last couple of weeks, more than all summer, we haven't got the nice weather to enjoy though :((( it was dry yesterday morning, but rain arrived in the afternoon and it's still at it (grrrrrrr)

24 Oct, 2009

 

Isn't it queer ?
An invasion of Ladybirds !!!
What have they been doing and where do they come from ??

At one stage i was sitting on the bench in the front garden and could see them all flitting through the air and landing on plants which was nice to see but when they're pitching all over 'you' ....... no :-[

24 Oct, 2009

 

no idea where they've been hiding all summer, but I'm glad they've finally arrived

24 Oct, 2009

 

WHERE are MINE???????????

24 Oct, 2009

 

Can I have some as well please Louise?
You could post some to Spritz and I Lol

24 Oct, 2009

 

You have got mine too not seen a one this year! and weather dull cloudy and cool just put the heating on. lovely pictures Louise.

24 Oct, 2009

 

Like Hywel if you've to many butterfly's send them to me, only seen one at beginning of summer.

24 Oct, 2009

 

Amazing isn't it how areas vary so widely with our wildlife ?!

24 Oct, 2009

 

We've been having loads of ladybirds also - all in our porch - huge ones!!

27 Oct, 2009

 

I'm finding them in the house now !
There are various different types around, they're not all the same !

27 Oct, 2009

 

At our daughter's in Surrey, we saw a Harlequin ladybird....I had to get my husband to catch it and get rid!

No 'proper' ladybirds here at all. :-((

27 Oct, 2009

 

What's a harlequin ladybird, Spritz? And I've no butterflies here either, not since cabbage whites 2 months ago

27 Oct, 2009

 

Bamboo, they're an invader from Asia and are an orangey colour with more spots.
They're endangering the British Ladybird because they eat other Ladybirds.

27 Oct, 2009

 

Yet another thing that has escaped my attention, then, never knew anything about this. Thanks for the info

27 Oct, 2009

 

I`ve been finding ladybirds everywhere too Louise but some are the dreaded Harlequins which I squash on site. Our poor native species will be wiped out by them. I think the warm weather is atracting them because we also have clouds of white fly everywhere.

Sandra :o)

28 Oct, 2009

 

I think the same, the warm weather's playing havoc with everything !

Those Harlequins are really bad news aren't they ?
They eat living and dead Ladybird larvae aswell as other smallish insects and you're quite right, the natives are under serious threat by them.

28 Oct, 2009

 

We all know what Ladybirds eat but what (apart from Harliquins) eats Ladybirds?

29 Oct, 2009

 

Do birds like them - or is their colour a clue there?

29 Oct, 2009

 

Heron, i wish i knew because i'd have them here, i don't want my natives disappearing.

Spritz, i don't know if birds would eat them.
As for their colour and them being a clue or not .... would birds eat the yellowy orange Pyracantha berries ?

Very interesting, we all need to find out what the Harlequin predator (right term ?) is and stock our gardens full of them/it ;-)))

29 Oct, 2009

 

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING PICS Louise.....

15 Nov, 2009

 

Thank you Oddbillie :-))))

15 Nov, 2009

 

:0)))

15 Nov, 2009

 

Yes I too noticed that you've been setting your camera to 'A' to get the narrow DoF and very well too, they're good.

15 Nov, 2009

 

The camera's set to Manual, Heron. This way i can adjust all the settings myself for shutter speed etc. etc.

15 Nov, 2009

 

One up for you Louise, I was trying to show off as I've only just learnt that bit.lol

15 Nov, 2009

 

Moving on - swiftly, do you think the Ladybirds know something we don't. The weather forecast for this week is incredibly warm for mid Nov.

15 Nov, 2009

 

Don't know Heron but yesterday there were several Ladybirds out in the front garden, at the warmest part of the day it was 22 degrees out there ....... crazy !

16 Nov, 2009

 

Our plants must be getting very confused.

16 Nov, 2009

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