Inconspicuous ladybirds

The Coccinellidae family comprises a diverse group of beetles. Some species are brightly coloured and these are colloquially termed "conspicuous ladybirds" or simply “ladybirds”. Others are small and inconspicuous, although these, on close inspection, are just as attractive as their charismatic counterparts. 

 

There are 20 species of these so-called inconspicuous ladybirds currently resident in Great Britain, plus several others which have been recorded occasionally and are not thought to be resident, breeding species here, at least at the moment. The life histories of the inconspicuous species have received less attention than the true ladybirds, with the exception of a notable few that have been used as biological control agents, some of which can be occasionally found forming short-lived populations outside greenhouses.