Ladybird, ladybird fly away home

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,

Your house is on fire and your children are gone,

All except one,

And her name is Ann,

And she hid under the baking pan.

Fluttering inside the lamp in the living room was a ladybird.  At first I thought it was a moth or a fly that had interrupted our evenings telly watching.  When I got closer I saw it had distinctive red spots on a black background, rather than the more familiar black spots on a red background.  I watched the spotted wing cover lift and the wings emerge to carry it towards the energy saving light bulb, a remarkable piece of natural engineering.

I haven’t seen much of the ladybird this year and why it had suddenly appeared at the end of October I had no idea.  Perhaps the endless rain had upset the balance as it had with many other insects, animals and plants.  I cupped the delicate creature in my hand and carried it to the front door.  Letting it go into the night time air I realised it had turned cold and this sole survivor was unlikely to last very long.

A little bit of research and I discovered that this insect may have been yet another example of an invasive species, the harlequin ladyird - also known as the halloween ladybird, which may explain its appearance at this time of the year.  But I couldn't be sure, because at around 5mm in length it could have also been the native 2-spot ladybird.  Identifying ladybirds can be a tricky business for a lay person.