Ladybird Alert (12): 7-Spot with eggs at Helmingham

We enjoyed a summer stroll (during a brief break in the clouds) around Helmingham Hall gardens. During our visit, we kept an eye out for Ladybirds, and soon came across the 7-Spot in the walled flower garden. At first I feared it had fallen victim to the parasitoid wasp, Dinocampus coccinellae, that causes paralysis, as there was something underneath the body of the insect, but we looked again, and found that the yellow 'thing' was in fact a batch of five eggs.

5 Ladybird eggs ...

... and soon there were 6 ...

... and then some minutes later, 11 ...

... followed by a 12th ...

... and finally a 13th egg, at which point the Ladybird walked off.

The egg laying took place over a matter of minutes, although we don't know when the first few appeared. The eggs should hatch in 3-10 days, allowing the larvae to emerge. I'm wondering why this Ladybird chose a piece of exposed masonry rather than the secluded underside of a leaf. There is quite a good photo (better than mine!) of Ladybird eggs here.

I'm just off to record my sighting on the UK Ladybird Survey ...

Helmingham Hall