Overview
- Alternating warm and wet early summer weather accelerated aphid reproduction, creating abundant prey that fueled one of the UK’s largest ladybird booms since 1976.
- On July 10, a swarm at Lord’s Cricket Ground stopped play during the England vs India Test; by July 13, vast numbers had blanketed beaches from Weston-super-Mare to the Essex and Suffolk coasts.
- Citizen scientists are submitting sightings to the UK Ladybird Survey via iRecord, providing crucial data on the swarm’s scale and duration.
- Ecologists highlight ladybirds’ vital role in controlling aphid populations and advise supplying shallow water dishes and preserving garden aphids to sustain the insects.
- Data from this event will help researchers improve understanding of how heatwave-driven aphid booms influence ladybird populations and human–wildlife interactions.