Beetles, Coccinellidae (ladybirds, ladybugs), Elateriade (click beetles, skipjacks, wire worms)

Above is Athous haemorrhoidalis, the Red-brown skipjack. The adult is 11.5 - 15.0 mm long, and is most commonly seen in the summer months in or near hedgerows, field margins, woods, bracken and meadows throughout England and Wales, it is less common in Scotland, and found in just a few places in Ireland.

Elateriade Family

Left is a beetle belonging to the Elateridae family. These are commonly known as click beetles or skipjacks, and the larvae (right) are know as wire worms. There are 9 000 species world wide, and 65 species in Britain. They range in length from 0.2 cm - 7.0 cm.

The beetles on the left have the typical elongated body of the Elateridae, with the pointed rear end and the head almost invisible. The adults feed on pollen, nectar, flowers or leaves, and when they are alarmed they will drop to the ground and play dead. Often they land on their backs, and once they feel danger has passed with get back up on their feet with a flick of their body. It is this flick accompanied by a clicking sound that gives them their common name. Some beetles can flick themselves to quite a height, and this has become their method of escaping danger.

The larvae (right and below) are known as wire worms, they live on plant roots and cause a large amount of damage. It can take a larva five years of feeding before it is ready to pupate. The larva is elongate and cylindrical, and is usually orange or yellow in colour.

Coccinellidae (ladybirds, ladybugs)

Right and below are ladybirds, these belong to the Coccinellidae family. There are 5 000 species world wide, and around 42 in the U.K., and most have the characteristic round shape. They range in length from 1 - 15 mm. The antennae are short and end in a club.

Most adults and larvae are carnivorous, though there are a few herbivorous species. Each larva will eat hundreds of aphids in its life. Both adults and larvae are now sold as biological control agents.

The bright colouration of both adults and larvae is a warning to predators that they taste foul!

This is termed aposematic colouring. The one above right has normal colouration of a 7 spot (Coccinella septempunctata). The one on the left has melanic colouration. This type of dark colouration is not so unusual, and is linked to the genes of the beetle. It is believed that in colder areas the dark colouration may be an advantage because it will enable the beetle to warm up more quickly. Adults range in length from 6 - 8 mm.

Adults often overwinter together in huge numbers as this conserves warmth.

Right is a drawing of a typical Coccinellidae larva. They are short and fat. They body has numerous tubercles and spines. The colours are brown, blue-black with yellow. Their legs are long and they are usually found on plants and trees in batches of 10 - 50 near their aphid prey.

The females lay the eggs on plants - usually on the underside of leaves, and as a newly hatched ladybird larva can survive for only 60 hours without food, the egg must be laid near their food - usually aphids or their relatives. The females lay batches of 3 - 50 eggs. The eggs are yellow. Normally a female can lay 100 - 200 eggs in her lifetime. Earwigs are predators of ladybird eggs.

On the left and right is the Orange ladybird, Halyzia 16 guttata. This ladybird is unusual in the it feeds on mildew on the undersides of the leaves of deciduous trees, although its secondary food is aphids. It overwinters in leaf litter, on trees (especially sycamore), and also underground. Its eggs are off white-pale lemon yellow and laid in batches of up to 24 on leaves. I found this one injured and clinging to the side of a gate into the woods.

Not a ladybird, but similar - click here

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Propylea 14-punctata, the 14 spot ladybird

The 14 spot ladybird, on the left, is yellow with black spots. The spots can be joined up, and very varied in pattern