Overview

• A string of early-summer heatwaves accelerated aphid life cycles, producing unprecedented prey levels that have sustained the nationwide ladybird boom.
• Play at Lord’s Cricket Ground was halted on July 10 when a dense swarm of aphid-feeding ladybirds distracted players during the England–India Test.
• Data submitted to the UK Ladybird Survey via iRecord confirm this is the most extensive invasion recorded in Britain since the summer of 1976.
• Researchers from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University of Oxford highlight ladybirds’ pivotal role as natural predators keeping aphid populations in check.
• Conservationists are calling on the public to document sightings, provide shallow water sources and preserve garden aphid colonies to support the insects through the summer surge.