1
00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,520
'Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home.

2
00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,280
'Your house is on fire
and your children all gone.'

3
00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:33,440
HE BLOWS

4
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:39,840
Few insects have such a hold
on our affection as the ladybird.

5
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:45,040
There are versions of that rhyme
in Switzerland, France and Sweden.

6
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,160
And look at all these things -

7
00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:53,560
pyjama cases, books, hats, cloths,
all kinds of things.

8
00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:59,120
This...
MUSIC
..is a radio from Hong Kong.

9
00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,160
Shampoo from Norway.

10
00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:09,160
A little clockwork toy
from Japan.

11
00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,080
This rather charming box from China.

12
00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:23,080
Matches from Poland,
chocolates from Germany -
an enormous number of things.

13
00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,240
But what about the REAL ladybird?

14
00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:39,200
Ladybirds are found
from the Arctic to the Tropics,

15
00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:44,560
from America through Europe
and Asia to Africa and Australia.

16
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:53,640
Those spotty replicas are based
on the "7-spot ladybird", the most
familiar of our British species.

17
00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:59,400
This is another common one,
the "2-spot".

18
00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:04,640
There are at least 2 dozen types
in Britain, some with red spots.

19
00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,000
This one has rings round its spots.

20
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,200
Some have as many as 18 spots,

21
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,880
or even 22.

22
00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,960
And some have no spots at all.

23
00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,080
Whatever their pattern and colour,

24
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:33,880
these gaudy beetles have shared
our fields and hedgerows
for centuries,

25
00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,720
holding a special place in folklore.

26
00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:42,480
The "lady" of the name ladybird
is said to be the Virgin Mary -

27
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,920
shown in mediaeval paintings
wearing a cloak of red -

28
00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:55,920
and the seven spots
symbolise the seven sorrows or joys
of the Virgin.

29
00:02:55,920 --> 00:03:00,760
The ladybird's red cloak
serves as a warning.

30
00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:06,360
If disturbed, ladybirds discharge
bitter yellow fluid from the knees,

31
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:11,080
so it's unpleasant to eat
and predators avoid it.

32
00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,680
Ladybirds appear in the spring.

33
00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,600
They hibernate through the winter,

34
00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:23,400
in clusters concealed
in leaves or at the base
of clumps of grass.

35
00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,600
These ladybirds will have hatched
towards the end of the summer,

36
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,680
so are already several months old.

37
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:40,720
As the air warms,
they crawl upwards into the green
of the new year's growth.

38
00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:01,120
One of the ladybird's first acts
is to seek out a mate.

39
00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:08,120
Male and female ladybirds
look more or less identical, except,
perhaps, to another ladybird.

40
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,200
The slight differences in colour

41
00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:16,200
are the result of age,
or just natural variation.

42
00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,840
Mating lasts for two hours or more.

43
00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:31,880
A female may mate
as many as 20 times,

44
00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:36,840
though one mating is sufficient
for several batches of eggs.

45
00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,880
Adults that have over-wintered
seldom survive beyond mid-summer,

46
00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,480
but, before that,
the female lays her eggs.

47
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:58,520
She positions them on the leaves
in neat batches of a few dozen.

48
00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,720
Most females lay 200-300,
but some may lay over a thousand.

49
00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:14,720
Contrary to folk tales that
describe ladybirds as good mothers,

50
00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:20,400
she takes no further interest
in her eggs once they are laid.

51
00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:29,440
After about a week,
depending on temperature,
the eggs begin to darken.

52
00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,200
New life stirs within the shell.

53
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:18,000
These alien creatures,
so different from the adult,
are ladybird larvae.

54
00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:38,080
They remain clustered on the eggs
until their skins darken and harden.

55
00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,240
Then, after a meal
of their own eggshell,

56
00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:49,000
they set off into the world
in search of prey.

57
00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:02,360
Just along the stem
on these same nettles,

58
00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:07,960
greenfly are bringing their young
into the world - upside down.

59
00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:25,920
To a tiny creature like this,
the hairs on a nettle stem
must be real obstacles -

60
00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,920
and they're poisonous, too!

61
00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,080
But a REAL danger is approaching.

62
00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:42,520
Ladybird larvae
are voracious predators,
and aphids are their favourite prey.

63
00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:47,680
The aphid has little defence
other than to kick and struggle.

64
00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:53,360
That's seldom effective against any
but the smallest ladybird larva.

65
00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,920
A takeaway meal
for an infant ladybird.

66
00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:14,560
If aphids are in short supply,

67
00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:19,440
the larvae themselves
may be at risk.

68
00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:35,120
This huge monster
is another ladybird larva.

69
00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:41,960
Well-grown larvae do devour their
own kind, but this is exceptional.

70
00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,360
The numbers of aphids
increase as the season advances,

71
00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:50,960
till there are aphids and ladybirds
everywhere that food can be found.

72
00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,840
Fields of young corn
yield an abundance of shoots

73
00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,720
for aphids to pierce and suck.

74
00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:03,760
Given time, many of these
would be eaten by ladybirds,

75
00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,680
but the farmer can't afford to wait.

76
00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:28,760
He sprays the crop with insecticide,
so killing not just the aphids,
but the ladybirds and their larvae.

77
00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:43,840
But, fortunately for the ladybirds,
it's not always like that.

78
00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:49,000
In your own garden,
you can leave the nettles unsprayed.

79
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,720
For 3 to 6 weeks,
the larvae feed and grow.

80
00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:59,040
Then, after a final moult,
they turn into pupae.

81
00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:03,960
A week or two later,
the pupa begins to hatch.

82
00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:58,320
It's quite normal for ladybirds
to hatch out looking like this.

83
00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:03,920
Only after several minutes
do the spots gradually appear.

84
00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:09,080
At the same time,
the wings expand and harden.

85
00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:14,880
When dry, they will be folded up
beneath these spotty wing-cases.

86
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,520
It now looks more like a ladybird.

87
00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:29,160
But it may be weeks before
it's the familiar pillar-box red.

88
00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:33,800
Long before that,
it's hard at work eating aphids.

89
00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:53,560
One ladybird may eat
as many as a hundred aphids a day,

90
00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:56,080
several thousand in a lifetime.

91
00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,840
So effective are they as predators

92
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:04,160
that in California they're used
to control insects in orchards.

93
00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,160
You can buy them for your garden.

94
00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:12,640
Ten dollars will buy half a pint
of ladybirds - about 5,000.

95
00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:17,920
Ladybirds aren't the only creatures
that take an interest in aphids.

96
00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:25,880
Ants do as well,
but in their case the relationship
is mutually beneficial.

97
00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:31,120
As the aphids feed, they secrete
a sugary liquid from their rear end,

98
00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,040
which the ants seek out and drink.

99
00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:44,200
In return for the nectar, the ants
defend the aphids against predators.

100
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:49,920
But how do they manage
with a ladybird?

101
00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:04,920
The ladybird's
hard, slippery wing-cases
stop the ants getting a grip,

102
00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:11,920
and, by "rocking and rolling",
it shields its vulnerable
underside.

103
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:22,080
In years when aphids do well,
ladybird numbers also build up
enormously.

104
00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:28,480
The long, hot summer of '76
was a very good year for ladybirds,

105
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:34,080
but the popular press thought this
was a major threat to humanity!

106
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,080
CLATTER OF TYPEWRITER

107
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,880
Ladybirds are really quite harmless.

108
00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:05,680
But they do tickle, and they may
exude an irritant fluid
if you squash them.

109
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:11,160
1976 WAS exceptional. Usually,
ladybirds get a better press.

110
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:16,880
Just off one of those beaches
is the Eastbourne Butterfly Centre,

111
00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:23,120
a lushly-planted greenhouse
alight with tropical butterflies.

112
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,360
One spring, they had a problem.

113
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:50,760
To show the butterflies off
to best advantage, they grow
flowering plants like this hibiscus.

114
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:56,800
At the start of the season,
the shoots became infested
with aphids.

115
00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:04,440
They could have been eliminated
by insecticides, but that would
also have killed the butterflies.

116
00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:12,640
So they appealed on local radio
for people to bring them ladybirds.

117
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:17,920
And bring them they did,
in hundreds.

118
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:04,080
The ladybirds soon set to work
and demolished the aphids.

119
00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:06,960
So the situation was saved.

120
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:14,920
An enclosed space like a greenhouse
is ideal for using ladybirds
to control pests.

121
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,040
The problem
is getting enough ladybirds.

122
00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:24,160
In America, they collect them
from mass hibernation sites,

123
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:29,400
but British ones don't get together
in such large numbers.

124
00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,320
And once the aphids are gone,

125
00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:39,920
the ladybirds tend to fly off
somewhere else. That's what those
clouds of ladybirds did in 1976.

126
00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,480
Most ladybirds are carniverous,

127
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,360
but a few are vegetarian.

128
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:04,120
This "22-spot" one grazes on fungi
and thin layers of mildew

129
00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:08,920
that may coat
the surface of leaves.

130
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:28,040
It's not only the adults
that eat mildew. Larvae do as well.

131
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:41,800
You often find 22-spots
in the garden, they like long grass.

132
00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:46,440
Most ladybirds
have a preferred habitat.

133
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,480
Two British species like heathland.

134
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,560
This one is associated with heather.

135
00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:59,240
Called the "hieroglyphic ladybird",
it comes in orange and black forms.

136
00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,680
Others like conifers.

137
00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:15,680
At least six kinds frequent pines,
some even having a preference
for a particular level in the tree,

138
00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,640
though you may see them elsewhere.

139
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,040
This is the "striped ladybird".

140
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:33,480
Like all conifer ladybirds,
it's carniverous,

141
00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:41,240
and it gets plenty of moisture
from its food, but it's not averse
to a drop of rain or dew.

142
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:28,240
Most conifer ladybirds,
like this "cream-streaked ladybird",
are quite conspicuous,

143
00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,760
so long as they move about
on green pine needles.

144
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:39,520
Like their gaudier cousins',
their colours tell predators
that they are distasteful.

145
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:45,760
But, at rest within the pine buds,
the same colours camouflage them.

146
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:58,600
Another kind found on conifers
is the "eyed ladybird".

147
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:06,880
This is perhaps
the most handsome British ladybird,
and the largest.

148
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:14,120
Like all ladybirds, it can do
something rather surprising.

149
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:33,280
Yes, ladybirds CAN fly -
seen here in slow motion.

150
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:38,400
Normally, their wings
are folded away out of sight,

151
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:45,200
but they are strong fliers
when the need arises,
as when food is scarce.

152
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:52,120
They can easily go 80 kilometres -
as far as from London to Brighton.

153
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:57,440
Some species of ladybird
all look very much the same.

154
00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,240
Others vary tremendously -

155
00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,560
none more than the "2-spot".

156
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,800
The typical form looks like this:

157
00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,720
red, with two black spots.

158
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:17,680
But, sometimes,
the spots are linked.

159
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,200
Or there may be extra small spots.

160
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,880
When there are more spots,

161
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:30,600
they may fuse
to give a range of patterns.

162
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:40,560
Towards the end of the spectrum,
they become BLACK, with RED spots.

163
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,600
ALL these are 2-spot ladybirds.

164
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:48,520
They could all have come
from the same batch of eggs.

165
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,720
CHURCH BELLS RING

166
00:21:52,720 --> 00:22:00,840
The frequency of
the different patterns varies from
one part of the country to another.

167
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:07,200
Here, in East Anglia,
the black form is hardly ever seen.

168
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:12,760
Almost all are the typical,
"proper", red with two black spots.

169
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:17,880
In other places,
the black forms are much commoner -

170
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:23,240
up to 90% of the population
in parts of Scotland,

171
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,280
and here, in northern England.

172
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:32,120
It WAS thought this might be
linked to pollution,

173
00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:41,000
that black ladybirds
might be better camouflaged
in grimy industrial landscapes.

174
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:46,040
But black forms predominate
in some UN-polluted regions.

175
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:51,560
And black ladybirds were around
BEFORE the Industrial Revolution.

176
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:56,640
It seems the link is
rather with the amount of sunlight.

177
00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:03,600
The north tends to be cloudier
and cooler, and black ladybirds
absorb heat better than red ones.

178
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:11,920
So black ladybirds
can get off to an earlier start
in the morning...or the spring.

179
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:18,760
But that's not the whole story.
Some female ladybirds
PREFER black males.

180
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,600
This preference is inherited,

181
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:28,640
so, in places where
it's advantageous to be black,
red males have a hard time.

182
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:33,960
The females kick them off
or try to run away.

183
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,560
Ladybirds have few natural enemies.

184
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,920
Warning colours and unpleasant
taste deter larger predators,

185
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:42,360
and their hard wing-cases
armour them against smaller ones.

186
00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:48,440
But they ARE vulnerable to THIS.
A tiny parasitic wasp.

187
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,280
The wasp stalks the ladybird...

188
00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:23,520
But it's not trying to sting it.
The reality is much more horrifying.

189
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:32,280
That long spike on the wasp's tail
is used for laying eggs.

190
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:39,520
It's trying to place an egg
within the living tissues
of the ladybird.

191
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:53,360
It probes for a weak spot
in the ladybird's armour.

192
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,680
There! The egg is laid.

193
00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:23,680
The wasp grub hatches out
and consumes the ladybird
from within.

194
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:31,600
Then, when it's ready to pupate,
it eats its way out
of the still-living ladybird.

195
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:37,120
It spins a silken cocoon,
anchoring the ladybird down.

196
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:44,800
In this way, it gains protection
from the unfortunate ladybird's
warning colouration.

197
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,200
Autumn.

198
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:16,520
With the turning of the season,

199
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:21,960
ladybirds seek out
sheltered refuges for hibernation.

200
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,520
7-spots descend to the undergowth.

201
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:53,120
Other ladybirds conceal themselves
in the bark of trees,
in crevices in rocks,

202
00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:58,120
and, sometimes,
in a more domestic setting.

203
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,240
These are 2-spot ladybirds.

204
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:14,800
You often find clusters of them
indoors.

205
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:20,120
To them, this window frame
must seem like just another rock,

206
00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:25,160
or a particularly good crack
in a tree trunk.

207
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:30,560
Here, they will be sheltered
from the worst of the winter,

208
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:36,000
till the new year again brings
the return of the ladybird.

209
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,880
Subtitles by Chas Donaldson
BBC Scotland 1987

210
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,880
E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk