Late Ladybirds

februarysgirl

I've been wanting to deadhead my achillieas for a while (completely lost cause now) but had been leaving it because there was always the odd ladybird or two and lots of aphids. I did notice a few weeks back that there were some more eggs laid and today I've noticed a crop of ladybird larvae which I'm very happy about. I also counted five ladybirds on the achillieas and four separate batches of eggs. Is it too late for them to make it to the turn of the weather? I'd hate to see that many potential ladybirds go to waste.

Fairygirl

Ladybirds usually find places to hide for winter - clematis is a favourite here if we're lucky enough to get any.  Unless you have nothing else in your garden, I'm sure they'll find a suitable spot. 
As to the eggs, they don't take long to become larvae, so you can always leave the heads on the Achilleas for a couple more weeks. 

februarysgirl

Although the achilleas were 9cm pots and I only planted them in March, they've grown enormously. I shall leave the heads on them as the ladybird/larvae seem to like crawling in them. At their base, they're very large with dense foliage so it will be an ideal place to hibernate. Fingers crossed we don't hit cold weather before they've made it to the adult stage. 

I love that the new larvae are making a dent in the aphid population who fortunately haven't migrated away from the achilleas. I'm glad I left them now, lots of food for new ladybirds!