Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata hibernating on bark of Acer tree, 22 January 2014

I thought I’d recorded no insects in the Botanics this week, but when downloading the week’s images from my camera this evening I found this shot of an Orange Ladybird, Halyzia sedecimguttata, hibernating nestled in a crevice in the bark of an Acer tree. Then I remembered that I’d taken the photograph because I had thought there was something odd about the bark but couldn’t work out what it was at the time. Moral – always carry a camera and photograph anything unusual – you never know what it might turn out to be! This hibernating ladybird is the second insect I’ve identified in the Garden this year and both have been on bark. (Another moral – scrutinise bark carefully, you never know what you might find!).  All ladybirds hibernate through the winter, in leaf litter, on trees, in sheds etc. They often cluster together in groups to keep warm, but this one was on its own.