Ladybirds

This revised and updated edition of Ladybirds provides a succinct but comprehensive and accessible overview of the biology of ladybirds and their parasites, focusing on ecology in an evolutionary context. It provides the latest information, coverage of recent additions to the British list including the harlequin ladybird, and makes suggestions for further research, both short and long term, highlighting gaps in knowledge and showing readers how to get involved with recording and studying ladybirds. It includes updated keys for the identification of ladybirds at late-instar larval and adult stages, and techniques for studying ladybirds and their parasites in both laboratory and field.

The authors hope that this book will be a valuable resource, not only for students, from school to university and beyond, but also for anyone with an interest in natural history, whether professional or recreational.

In 1997 Helen completed her PhD (on the ecology of ladybirds, Pandora neoaphidis(fungal insect pathogen) and other aphid natural enemies) at Rothamsted Research (linked with Nottingham University) and took up a position as lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University.

Helen combined research with teaching for 10 years before taking up a position (research scientist) with the Biological Records Centre (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) where she is responsible for zoological data and research and works extensively with national zoological schemes and societies. Her research focuses on the effects of environmental change on insect populations and communities. She is particularly interested in the dynamics of invasive species and their effects on native biodiversity.

She coordinates the UK Ladybird Survey and is using the large-scale and long-term coccinellidae datasets (distribution and abundance) to understand and predict the effects of the arrival of the non-native harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) on native species. This work was selected for the 2009 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition and the Moscow Science Festival in 2010. Helen has been invited to exhibit her research on ladybirds at the BBC Gardener's World Exhibition in June 2011.

Helen is working on a project to produce a comprehensive information portal on non-native species in Great Britain. She also leads a European study group within the International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC) on the Risks and benefits of Exotic Biological Control Agents which uses the harlequin ladybird as a model species. 

Helen continues with her research interests first initiated in her PhD on the ecology and dynamics of insect host-parasite interactions and has recently led an editorial team to produce a journal special edition (Ecology of Fungal Entomopathgens – Springer) which reflects her work in this field. She is currently working on another journal special issue (Invasive alien arthropod predators and parasitoids: an ecological approach), an activity through the IOBC WG that she leads.

The ecology of ladybirds is a subject that appeals to the public and throughout her career Helen has taken every opportunity to communicate her research to a wider audience. This has included natural history talks, school visits, bioblitz, popular science articles, podcasts and a significant number of interviews with the media. The arrival of the non-native harlequin ladybird in 2004 captured the imagination of the media and there has been sustained media interest in research on this species over the last six years. 

Peter Brown is a senior lecturer in the Department of Animal & Environmental Biology at Anglia Ruskin University. His research focuses on understanding the spread distribution of the invasive harlequin species of ladybird, both in the UK and worldwide. Peter monitors the effects of the harlequin’s spread on our native ladybird species and is involved in genetic work to detect predation of ladybirds and other prey by the harlequin.

Remy Poland is a biology teacher at Clifton College, Bristol. Her research focuses on the evolutionary ecology of ladybirds. Current interests include the ecological impacts of the invasive 'harlequin ladybird', Harmonia axyridis, on British aphidophagous insects, particularly native coccinellids, through the processes of resource competition and intraguild predation.