Welcome to NZ Ladybird Watch

There's a lot we still don't know about NZ ladybirds, and in particular we know very little about which species are on the increase and which are in decline. By joining us at NZ Ladybird Watch, you'll be helping us build up knowledge of ladybirds in New Zealand. And celebrating the natural history of these excellent beetles.

All you need to do is upload a photo of a ladybird to the project, either from the NatureWatch NZ website or the iNaturalist mobile app.

When you add your observations, you'll be asked to say "yes" or "no" to "I record every ladybird I see this month." Saying "no" means that you'd adding casual observations when you find a ladybird that's of interest to you. That's really good, as it will tell us what species are found where, at what times of the year, and doing what.

By saying "yes" to "I record every ladybird I see this month", this means that you're taking your devotion to ladybird watching to the next level. It means that we can safely assume that every ladybird you saw that month you added to the project. From everyone doing this we can see what proportion of the ladybirds in an area are different species. This would show us, for example, if an exotic ladybird was taking over from the local natives.

Saying "yes" to "I record every ladybird I see this month" also means that we can can assume that you saw no ladybirds every time and place in that month that you added other non-ladybird observations to NatureWatch NZ. For example, you might keep a look out for aphids, which many ladybirds like to eat, and upload photos of those. Or you might photograph something completely unrelated to ladybirds. Knowing where and when you didn't find ladybirds allows us to track which ladybird species are getting more common and which are in decline. That's something that's hard to do reliably with just casual observations.

Posted on May 16, 2016 10:22 AM by jon_sullivan