Ladybirds can't be bought. The way to get more in the garden is to create the right conditions, and here's how.
What does it look like?
Ladybirds are beetles in the family Coccinellidae, 1 to 10mm long and round or oval in shape. The most familiar species have brightly coloured red or yellow wing cases marked with dark or light spots. More than 40 species live in Britain, and about half of these are small, under 3mm, and dark coloured, easily mistaken for something other than a ladybird entirely. Larvae look quite different from the adults: elongated, mostly black or dark grey, often with yellow or orange markings and small hairs or spikes. The seven-spot ladybird (red with seven black spots, 5-8mm) is the most familiar British species, and the two-spot ladybird (4-5mm, variable colouring) is nearly as common; both are aphid-eaters. The orange ladybird (orange with 12 to 16 white spots) is one of the mildew-eating exceptions, and the kidney spot ladybird (black with two red kidney-shaped markings) is one of the scale-insect specialists. For confirming an identification or logging a sighting, the European Ladybird Survey covers all British species and runs its own recording scheme.
Life cycle
Most adult ladybirds overwinter in sheltered places, often clustering together in large groups, sometimes inside buildings. They emerge in spring to mate and lay eggs: species that prey on aphids lay their eggs directly on plants already carrying an aphid colony, so the larvae hatch straight into a food source. Many species produce several generations through the summer.
Not every ladybird in the garden is native
The harlequin ladybird, introduced to Britain and established since 2004, is now widespread in England and spreading into Scotland. Like native species it preys on aphids, but it also eats the eggs and larvae of other insects, including native ladybirds, and evidence on its effect on native populations is mixed: some native species show no decline where harlequins are present, others have become less common, and research is ongoing. There is no way to control it that wouldn't also harm native ladybirds, and it is now so well established that destroying a few would make no difference to its overall numbers. One found indoors can simply be captured and released outside.
How to tell them apart: Adult harlequins are 8 to 10mm long, larger than most native species, with highly variable colouring, from red or orange with black spots to black with red spots and up to 21 spots in total. The clearest tell is a white triangular marking on the head, which native ladybirds don't have. Harlequin larvae are also distinctive: black and orange with two orange stripes, spiky, and up to 1cm long.
How to encourage it
Log piles, areas of long grass and leaf litter left alone over winter give ladybirds somewhere to gather, and once a cluster has settled in it is worth leaving undisturbed until spring.
Most pesticides, including organic ones, kill natural enemies along with the pest they're aimed at. Aphid numbers usually build up before predator numbers catch up, so waiting a while after aphids appear, rather than spraying straight away, gives ladybirds and other predators the chance to do the job instead.
Plant these near the crops that need help:
- Alyssum: its nectar and pollen attract ladybirds and other aphid predators; grow it alongside a crop that gets aphids.
- Calendula: grown among vegetables, it helps attract predatory insects and increases pollination.
- Poached-egg plant: grown among vegetables as part of a mixed planting, it helps attract beneficial predators.
Calendula and poached-egg plant are fully hardy and can be sown in situ in spring or autumn (protect autumn-sown poached-egg plant from frost). Alyssum is less hardy and only reliable in mild, sheltered spots, so a spring sowing once frost risk has passed is the safer bet across most of Scotland. All three flower by summer, which is also when aphid colonies, and the ladybirds after them, tend to build up: there's no shortcut to an earlier effect, since it takes a growing season rather than a few weeks for the planting to do its job.
Why this matters in Scotland
Scotland already has 1,714 recorded sightings of the harlequin ladybird on NBN Atlas Scotland, the national biodiversity records database, as of 2026-08-04: a species already well established here, not one still arriving.
That turns "spreading into Scotland" from a direction into a scale, and it's most likely in gardens and towns specifically, where the species is most commonly seen: worth telling the harlequin apart from a native ladybird now, not treating it as a distant possibility.
What it helps control
Aphids are the pest most often named for ladybirds to control, but several species also prey on scale insects, and a few feed on mildews rather than insects at all.
Myths about ladybirds
6 common claims about ladybirds, checked: 2 busted2 disputed0 untested2 hold up
“You can tell a ladybird's age by counting its spots”
Spot number and pattern are fixed features of a species, not a running tally that grows with age. Spot count and colour are the main way to tell one of Britain's ladybird species apart from another, for example seven spots on a red background for the seven spot ladybird, or four to fourteen black markings on yellow for the fourteen spot ladybird, with no suggestion that an individual gains spots over its lifetime.
Our read Most ladybirds live only around a year, so a rule that implied great age from a high spot count could not hold even in principle: a heavily spotted individual is simply a member of a heavily spotted species, not an elderly one.
What to do: Use spot count and colour to work out which of the UK's ladybird species you are looking at, not how old it is.
1 source
- RHSDescribes UK ladybird species by their fixed spot count and colour pattern, for example seven black spots on red for the seven spot ladybird and four to fourteen markings on yellow for the fourteen spot ladybird, as a means of species identification.
“Ladybirds only eat aphids”
Most of the UK's ladybird species are aphid predators, but not all of them. Several species have different diets, including the orange ladybird and the twenty-two spot ladybird, which feed on mildews on a range of garden plants rather than insects, and species like the kidney spot ladybird, which preys on scale insects alongside aphids. There is also at least one vegetarian species, the bryony ladybird, which feeds on white bryony rather than any animal prey.
What to do: Do not assume every ladybird in the garden is there for aphids: mildew-feeding species such as the orange and twenty-two spot ladybird are worth encouraging on plants troubled by powdery mildew, as a form of free fungal control alongside aphid predation from other species.
1 source
- RHSLists UK ladybird species by diet, noting the orange ladybird and twenty-two spot ladybird feed on mildews, the kidney spot ladybird preys on scale insects, and the bryony ladybird is vegetarian, feeding on white bryony.
“Harlequin ladybirds are wiping out native UK ladybirds”
The harlequin ladybird, established in Britain since 2004, is an aggressive predator that eats aphids, scale insects, and the eggs and larvae of other ladybirds, and is widely blamed for the scarcity of the two spot ladybird in particular. Buglife states plainly that harlequins out-compete native ladybirds for food and are thought to be the main reason for the two spot's decline. The RHS takes a more cautious line, stating that evidence in Britain so far is mixed, with some native species showing no decline where harlequins are present and others becoming less common, and that research is ongoing.
What to do: There is no recommended way to control harlequins in a garden, since methods that would harm them would also harm native ladybirds, so the practical response is to keep providing habitat for a range of native species (log piles, hollow stems, nettle patches) rather than trying to remove harlequins directly.
In Scotland: Harlequin ladybirds are already widespread across England and Wales but their distribution in Scotland is still increasing, with the invasion progressing from south to north, so gardeners in southern Scotland are more likely to encounter them than those further north for now.
2 sources
- RHSStates there was a fear harlequins would out-compete native aphid predators, but that evidence of actual decline in native ladybirds is mixed, with some species unaffected and others less common, and research ongoing; also states there is no recommended way to control harlequins since it would harm native ladybirds too.
- BuglifeStates harlequins can easily out-compete native ladybirds for food and are thought to be the main reason for the increasing scarcity of the two spot ladybird, and that their UK distribution is widespread in England and Wales and increasing in Scotland.
“Buying and releasing ladybirds from a shop or mail-order supplier is an effective way to control aphids in the garden”
Adult ladybirds released for aphid control tend to disperse and fly off, while it is the larvae that stay put where aphids are available, which undermines the point of releasing adults into an open garden. Species singled out as reliably effective, such as the mealybug ladybird, are recommended specifically for enclosed environments like a greenhouse, released in the evening to reduce the chance of adults escaping through vents, not for open beds and borders.
Our read Effectiveness is tied to a closed environment where predators cannot simply leave; nothing in the guidance supports releasing shop-bought ladybirds into an open garden as a reliable way to knock back an aphid problem.
What to do: Reserve bought-in ladybirds for enclosed spaces like a greenhouse or polytunnel, and rely on attracting and keeping wild ladybirds already present in an open garden through habitat (log piles, nettles, leaving some aphids as food) rather than expecting a shop-bought release to stay put outdoors.
1 source
- RHSStates that adult ladybirds tend to disperse after release while larvae stay where placed if aphids are present, and recommends species such as the mealybug ladybird for use in enclosed glasshouse conditions with evening release to limit adults escaping.
“Ladybird larvae look nothing like adult ladybirds and gardeners often kill them thinking they're pests”
Ladybird larvae do not resemble the round spotted beetle most gardeners picture. They are elongated, up to 12mm long, greyish black with orange, red or white markings, and sometimes spiny, a shape closer to a small elongated grub than a beetle. Dedicated aphid predator guidance is built around teaching gardeners to recognise this larval form specifically so that it is not removed or treated as a pest.
Our read That larval identification is considered worth a dedicated section, alongside separate guidance not to use pesticides where avoidable, points to this being a real and recurring mix-up rather than a hypothetical one.
What to do: Learn to recognise the elongated, dark, orange-marked larval form before treating anything for pests in early summer, since a larva you remove is one less predator eating aphids for you.
2 sources
- RHSDescribes ladybird larvae as up to 12mm long, greyish black with orange-red or white markings and sometimes spiny, and frames correct identification of this larval form as key to protecting them as natural aphid predators.
- University of Maryland ExtensionDescribes ladybird beetle larvae as flattened, tapered and 'alligator-like', dark with orange or yellow markings, a form dramatically different from the adult beetle.
“Tidying up the garden in autumn (clearing leaf litter, cutting back stems, removing log piles) harms ladybirds by destroying where they overwinter”
Ladybirds need sheltered sites to survive winter, and different species use different shelter. The seven spot ladybird hibernates in hollow plant stems, sometimes in large clustered groups, while the orange ladybird hibernates in leaf litter or other sheltered spots. More generally, adult ladybirds need sheltered sites for overwintering, often in groups, which can include gaps in bark, log piles and buildings as well as leaf litter and dead stems.
What to do: Leave some seed heads, hollow stems, leaf litter and a log pile undisturbed over autumn and winter rather than cutting everything back and clearing it away, and delay a full tidy-up until growth resumes in spring.
2 sources
- The Wildlife TrustsStates that adult seven spot ladybirds hibernate in hollow plant stems, sometimes clustering together in large groups over winter.
- RHSStates that adult ladybirds need sheltered sites for overwintering, and describes them as grey or black larvae with orange or white markings as a separate identification note.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy ladybirds?
Not usefully: ladybirds released into a garden with nothing to hold them there simply leave. Creating the right habitat and food source is what actually keeps a population around; see "How to encourage it" above.
Is every ladybird I see the same?
No, see "Not every ladybird in the garden is native" above. Not every insect that looks similar is the same species, and telling them apart matters.
How do I know if ladybirds are actually helping?
Watch the pest population, not the predator count: fewer aphids, brown scale over a few weeks is the real sign, not how many ladybirds you can spot on a given day.
Do ladybirds only deal with the pests listed above?
No, also scale insects; some species feed on mildew rather than insects at all. The list above is what they're best known for, not the full extent of what they take.
Sources
12 sources, recorded with what each was used for
- RHS: For Aphids: RHS names ladybirds among aphid predators and recommends encouraging natural enemies, waiting for predator populations to control aphids naturally in spring and summer. Most pesticides, including organic ones, reduce biodiversity including natural enemies; aphid populations tend to build before natural enemies are active in enough numbers, so waiting lets predators do the work instead.
- Garden Organic: Garden Organic strongly supports attracting predators including ladybirds via diverse flowering plants, calling it an evidence-based ecosystem approach rather than companion planting as such. Coriander and fennel flowers, Californian poppy, poached-egg plant and calendula, mixed in among vegetables, are named as flowers that support predatory insects; calendula is specifically also credited with increasing pollination.
- RHS: Identification (family, size, wing-case colouring, the >40-British-species and small-dark-species facts, larva appearance), life cycle (overwintering clusters, spring mating and egg-laying on aphid colonies, multiple summer generations), and the harlequin ladybird's UK establishment, colouring, effect on native species, and that it is neither desirable nor necessary to try to control it.
- RHS: Alyssum's nectar and pollen attract predators of aphids.
- Wildlife Trusts: The harlequin ladybird's white triangular head marking is the clearest way to tell it apart from native species, and it is spreading into Scotland.
- RHS: RHS's dedicated harlequin ladybird page: larva identification (black and orange, up to 1cm, two orange stripes and spiky), that there is no way to control it without also harming native ladybirds, that destroying a few makes no difference given how established it already is, and that one found indoors can simply be captured and released outside.
- NBN Atlas Scotland: NBN Atlas Scotland's harlequin ladybird species page recorded 1,714 sightings in Scotland as of 2026-08-04, evidence of how established it already is here rather than a species still arriving.
- RHS: Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is propagated by sowing seed in situ in spring, and is rated H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK, down to -5 to 1°C, but not reliably hardy everywhere.
- RHS: Calendula officinalis is propagated by sowing seed in situ in spring or autumn, and is rated H5: hardy throughout the UK even in severe winters.
- RHS: Poached-egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii) is propagated by sowing seed in situ in spring or autumn, protecting autumn sowings from frost, and is rated H5: hardy throughout the UK even in severe winters.
- RHS: RHS's beneficial insects and bugs page: adult ladybirds need sheltered sites for overwintering.
- european-ladybirds.brc.ac.uk: European Ladybird Survey: run by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Anglia Ruskin University, it provides species descriptions covering all UK ladybirds and a recording scheme for confirming an identification or logging a sighting.