Kidney-spot Ladybirds

Also at Oxwich yesterday, Kidney-spot Ladybirds (Chilocorus renipustulatus) were observed crawling around the trunks of willows in a seemingly random fashion. When approached to within 50cm they would suddenly clamp down like limpets and remained steadfast for at least 10 minutes.

Note that the 2-spot and 10-spot Ladybirds have forms that can all look superficially like Kidney-spot, but these are smaller species with a more oval outline. The Heather Ladybird is also black and round like the Kidney-spot, but has much reduced red spots, somewhat resembling a semi-colons.