24-spot Ladybird (Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata)
This attractive orange/red beetle is one of the smallest Ladybirds and is also not atypical, as it's hairy rather than smooth and shiny, and eats fungal moulds on plants, rather than the usual Ladybird staple, Aphides.
My garden with it's long varied grasses is perfect for it.
Adults live approximately a year, overwintering in grass tussocks, leaf litter among grass, gorse bushes or under dock leaves and other debris.
And of course, there's that scientific name!
''Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata'' is a beetle in the family Coccinellidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Subcoccinella''. It has the typical, almost semi-spherical, ladybird shape and is patterned with spots. However it differs from many of the well-known ladybirds in being neither smooth and shiny nor an eater of aphids: the wing-cases look velvety and it eats fungal moulds on plants.
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