The 2 spot ladybird above and below is one of the most abundant and most variable in adult colouration. It usually has 2 black spots on a red background, but black with red spots, and even a yellow background can be seen. The underside is always black as are the legs. It is widespread in in the U. K., but less common in the north, and uncommon in Scotland. This ladybird is much smaller than the 7 spot. It can be found on a wide variety of plants and trees. Adult body length is 3 - 6mm.
The female lays her eggs in batches of 20 - 50 at a time. The total number of eggs she is able to lay in her lifetime depends on the quality and quantity of food she eats as an adult.
Above is the Cream spot ladybird. The adult body length is 4 - 5 mm, and as the name suggests it has 14 cream coloured spots on red. As with most other ladybirds it eats aphids and similar insects both as an adult and larva. It will also eat honeydew.
It is found in Europe, Siberia and North America. Adults are seen in spring, and in the U. K. are found mainly on deciduous trees and in hedgerows. This one was on birch in April. It is widespread in the U. K. and has been increasing since 1990.
The Larch ladybird, Aphidecta obliterata, is above. It is widespread in the U. K. and Europe, and as its common name suggests it is almost always found on or near conifers. The adult body length is 3.3 - 5 mm. Adult body markings are varied, and sometimes not there at all, as in the photograph above. The legs are always brown, and the pronotum has an M or W mark - depending on how you look at it. It will eat aphids, but prefers adelgids ( a sap sucker closely related to aphids). When it is forced to feed only on aphids its breeding rate decreases. It is used in the U. S. A. and Canada as biocontrol against Adelges picea.