The Beetles come to Blashford

There were four of them and they were quite "fab", but they were all ladybirds. Both in the moth trap and just around the Center there were lots of ladybirds today. In the trap were several Orange Ladybirds and a single Cream-spot Ladybird (pictured). Neither species is at all rare, although it was thought that Orange Ladybirds were quite uncommon until moth trappers started to record them, when it was realised they are actually quite common.
The other two of the four were a Ten-spot Ladybird and several of the alien Harlequin Ladybird, the one pictured is the black from with red spots, which is a little less common than the red from with black spots. This is a large species which eats other ladybird larvae as well as the usual aphids. It arrived in Britain in the last few years and has rapidly become the commonest species over a very large area. It came originally from SE Asia but has been introduced into N. America and Europe and is probably now the world's commonest ladybird species.

The Little Ringed Plover chicks still survive as do the Lapwing chicks. The Common Terns are also still doing really well, the oldest brood are starting to flap their growing wings and will be flying before too long. Most broods are still of three, which means they have not lost any chicks as they almost never pay more than three eggs.