Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home …

Every winter without fail, ladybirds – any number from about fifteen to forty – come to hibernate in our bedroom in the recess above the bedroom window. I have never taken a photo of them. And since Denzil issued his Nature Photo Challenge #27- Ladybirds – this week, I haven’t seen a single one out and about, so I am resorting to pillaging photos from Unsplash once more.

But Denzil himself suggested that since I’m fond of collective nouns, I should instead share the one for this charming insect. Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you – a loveliness of ladybirds. Isn’t that quite – er – lovely?

The featured photo is from Kandis in Glasgow, and the above image is by Malcolm Lightbody. Both can be found on Unsplash.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

50 thoughts on “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home …”

    1. The only time they gave us the creeps was one year in Norfolk, where there was an infestation. You couldn’t sit down without sweeping a cushion of them from the seat. It was very unsettling.

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      2. I’ll never forget that time in Happisburgh. My daughter was then only 5 and she got so upset at the masses of them, just everywhere, even in phone boxes (remember those?) and on fairground rides. Café staff had special dusters to sweep chairs free of them as customers arrived.

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      4. Not that I know of. We were only on holiday so didn’t necessarily have our ears to the ground. It was also intensely localised – we had no problems when we moved just a few miles along.

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  2. Two beautiful shots you’ve found, Margaret. Hibernating ones- you are privileged! The closest I’ve come to seeing them in numbers was at Nottingham Castle one year, and they were everywhere- the yellow and black ones. As Denzil said to me, maybe we wouldn’t find them so appealing if they were plain black. Just bugs!

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  4. It is indeed, lovely. Another collective noun to add to my list. Your mention of hibernating ladybirds reminds me of when we discovered many of them, also hibernating, in a space in a bedroom window frame. Sadly we discovered them when we opened said window to take photos of the thick snow which had fallen overnight. Many ladybirds tumbled into the snow. As it happened this window was above the conservatory roof and Bernie set himself the task of leaning perilously out and rescuing as many as he could by scooping up the snow in a net and extracting them. The rescued ladybirds were rehoused in a snug box and left undisturbed in a cold corner. Come spring and warmth, many of them emerged and flew off safely!

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  5. Apparently a group of ladybirds/ladybugs used to be called a ‘bloom’ back in 1486 (when I were nobut a lad) It was printed in a book called ‘The Book of Hawking, Hunting and Blasing of Arms’ which is where we get almost all collective nouns for animals.

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  6. Yes, ‘a loveliness of ladybirds’ is just perfect 🙂 I was sorry I couldn’t find any images in my archives, especially as I suspect there are one or two lurking that I’ll come across in a few weeks’ time when looking for something else!

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    1. Thanks Amy. And I’m so glad you’ve commented, because I can’t comment on YOUR post. WP Gremlins don’t let me, even though I’ve signed in. It’s their latest bit of mischief. What I wanted to say was how much I enjoyed your post, particularly its emphasis on traditional festivals. Don’t see how WP could object to that!

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      1. Oh… I had no idea you could comment on my post. Sorry for the trouble. Hope it won’t happen again. Thank you for commenting here. 🙂

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  12. The name is lovely, but I’m quite sure that suddenly coming across a host of ladybirds wouldn’t be! I’ve never gone through an invasion of ladybirds, but I did have the horrendous experience of an invasion of greenfly during the summer that I worked in Butlins down in Clacton. Horror of horrors!

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  14. They are lovely ladies, even the males. 🙂

    We experience the same influx of roommates each autumn. I was horrified to learn that some just vacuum them up without realizing they are not at all harmful. I guess having a few dozen roaming the house might be problematic but I’d never do such a thing.

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  16. Pingback: Your photos of Ladybirds – Denzil Nature

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