Ladybirds at Lunchtime

 We had a lovely lunchtime walk round North Merchiston Cemetery and checked for hibernating ladybirds on the gravestones. Most of the ladybirds we saw were Harlequins (Harmonia axyridis), a species that occurs in a number of colour forms. This is Harmonia axyridis var spectabilis

while this is Harmonia axyridis var succinea

and here's a gathering of both varieties

The Harlequin is an invasive species, it first arrived in the UK in 2006, I think, and is in many places taking over from other species. In the cemetery today, we only saw a couple of ladybirds that weren't Harlequins, and they were both Pine Ladybirds like the one below.

You can (usually) get a closer look at these photos by clicking on them to enlarge them.