Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Heather Ladybird

Native to the Palaearctic region and occurring from Europe to the far east of Siberia, this species is now established in many countries throughout the world through being introduced to many regions as a biocontrol agent of various plant parasites. It is widespread and generally common across Europe north to the UK and central provinces of Fennoscandia, it occurs in North Africa and Asia Minor and is recorded from the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands, in the UK it is common across southern and central England, and more local further north to the Scottish border and across Ireland although it appears to be spreading northwards into Scotland. This very distinctive species is typical of heather moorland, heathland, scrub and coastal dunes but it may also be found in a very wide range of habitats; it often occurs on conifer trees in parks and gardens and, in the summer also on deciduous trees such as willow and beech, it may be swept from various shrubs, bramble, gorse and broom, and in Europe it is often common in pine forests, orchards and quarries. Adults and larvae are specialist predators of scale insects; both soft bodied (Coccidae) and armoured scales (Diaspididae), but they readily predate aphids and other small insects and have been quoted as feeding mostly on larvae of the heather leaf beetle (Lochmaea suturalis (Thomson, C.G., 1866)) although this is probably based on local observations as like all members of the genus they have mandibles (among other adaptations) modified to feeding on armoured scale insects that live under waxy defensive secretions. Adults are present year-round, they overwinter under bark or among litter and become active early in the year although they are often active during mild winter spells as well, they mate over a long spring and early summer period and are thought to be univoltine in temperate northern regions, this may vary further south and in tropical regions they are known to be continuously-breeding with up to six generations each year. Eggs are attached to foliage, usually on the underside and not always on heather, and larvae emerge after a few days, they are active predators and are easy to see and identify on leaves and stems; the final instar is mainly dark brown but has a distinctive pale basal abdominal segment, each abdominal and thoracic segment has six long branched spines, these are black except for those on the base of the abdomen which are pale, earlier instars are extensively pinkish-grey with black spines. They pupate exposed on leaves and  stems;  the  pupa is  shiny  black  but usually  shrouded in  the  larval  skin