Two Spotted Ladybird

Description:

Small red ladybird with only two black spots on its wing case and distinctive white 'bow' patch on the rear of its thorax as well as four other white patches on its head and thorax.

Habitat:

Found mostly on trees but also likes lucerne. This species was introduced to NZ from Europe and eats aphids. Has become quite common in southern New Zealand. This one found in my garden on a Coprosma robusta shrub.

Notes:

The nursery rhyme "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, your house is on fire and your children do roam" refers to the plight of ladybirds when the hop vines were burned in England after the harvest.