With the lovely weather that we’ve had over the last few days, I’ve seen a couple of ladybird gatherings on warm, sunlit walls. They’re quite clumsy landers – almost comical! They crash onto the wall then toddle off nonchalantly. Planned entry…obviously. 

Warm days in October are classic ladybird clustering days. They’re looking for somewhere warm to spend the winter and presumably the heat coming off the walls attracts them. There are quite a lot of nooks and crannies even in what looks to us like a smooth surface. Plenty of space for a tiny insect. They’ll pile onto each other in an effort to conserve heat, so when they find good space they emit pheromones to attract others.  

Come back on a warm day in March and you’ll see them start to crawl out of hibernation again and look for food. A lovely sign that spring is back and it’s getting warm enough for live to stir again. 

Kargona via Adobe Stock #483491200