Ladybirds are the theme for 2019
This year's Marlborough in Bloom theme is ladybirds.
Not only are ladybirds popular with the public because of their bold colours but many of the species are predators helping gardeners and farmers with pest control. The seven-spot ladybird can eat about 5,000 aphids during their year-long life span.
Here some more interesting facts about ladybirds:
- Ladybirds are insects - they have six legs. They are beetles and belong to the family Coccinellidae.
- There are 46 species of ladybird in Britain, 26 of which are brightly coloured and spotty.
- The bright colours of a ladybird warn potential enemies that they taste horrible.
- The harlequin ladybird has been called the most invasive ladybird on Earth! It is large and hungry and will eat ladybird eggs and immature ladybirds when aphids are in short supply.
