Cream-spot Ladybird

The Cream-spot Ladybird is a distinctive woodland insect with cream to pale yellow spots on reddish-brown wing covers. Adults usually have fourteen spots, although these can join together or vary in number. It measures 4 to 5 millimetres in length and has a rounded shape with a cream-coloured area behind the head that has dark markings. This ladybird lives in woodlands with trees that lose their leaves in autumn, especially oak, sycamore, and ash trees. It feeds on aphids, small insects that often damage plants. The young ladybirds, called larvae, also eat other insects and are dark with pale markings. Adults are most often seen from May to September on the leaves and branches of trees. The Cream-spot Ladybird is found widely across England, Wales, and southern Scotland but is usually less common than many other British ladybirds. Because it lives mostly in the tree canopy, it is often missed compared to species found closer to the ground. Despite this, it is a regular part of the woodland tree community.