According to this article some parts of the UK could soon see an invasion of ladybirds. Numbers of the non native Harlequin ladybird have dramatically increased over the past few years. At this time of the year when the weather starts to get colder the ladybirds looks for cracks in walls to hide in and often find ways into the house in an effort to stay warm. Unfortunately whilst the ladybirds are fairly harmless the rapid expansion of the non native species is bad news for our native ladybirds which compete for the same food. Scientists have launched the UK Ladybird Survey to track the spread of the harlequins which are larger and have more spots than the native seven spot ladybird. If you see any you can email your pictures to the Harlequin Ladybird Survey website or text LADYBIRD to 83040 to receive a link to upload your photos from your mobile.