Thankfully, my swarming ladybirds have almost gone and many who managed to sneak into the porch while the door was open have taken up residence in the corner above my back door.I sent my photos to the UK Ladybird Survey who identified the bugs as the invasive harlequin species.
Helen Roy at the UK Ladybird Survey said: "We do not recommend killing any ladybirds and although this is partly because of the risk of native species being misidentified as harlequins, also any that are killed will unfortunately make very little difference to the population."
Ms Roy urged me to record the sightings and upload photos using the survey's online forms. Apparently the invasive species has been found as far north as Orkney but high numbers found in Battersea, Clapham and Chelsea suggest some could have arrived via Eurostar or with vegetables sold at Covent Garden.
According to the survey website, harlequins have been known to damage late summer ripening fruit, such as pears, and get among grape harvests, tainting the wine that is produced.
