The Seven Spot Ladybird is a small round red beetle that has its name ‘Seven Spot’ because it has seven spots on its body. It can be found almost anywhere in gardens, woodlands, meadows and hedgerows where there are plant lice called ‘aphids’. Aphids are this ladybird’s favourite food.

The Seven Spot Ladybird is about eight millimetres in length and its body is divided into three distinct parts: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. Its head is black and quite small and its thorax, which is the middle part of the body, is black with pale yellow patches at the front. The thorax also holds three pairs of legs and two sets of wings. The hind wings are soft and are used for flying and the front wings are red and quite hard. The front wings are called 'elytra' and they cover and protect the soft wings used for flying.

Female Seven Spot Ladybirds lay little yellow eggs in small groups on leaves. Black larvae with quite long legs hatch out of the eggs and almost immediately feed on aphids, like their parents. Seven Spot Ladybirds hibernate in large groups over winter in garden sheds and under vegetation. They can often be seen piled up on top of each other when they are hibernating and they do this to keep each other warm.