hiya bucks in Bourne End, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Wycombe, Wooburn September 2017 | Page 10

PRETTY KILLERS: PART 2 Another common type of these ‘pretty killers’ is the larger seven spot ladybird which often hibernates in garden sheds or tree bark. They usually emerge in spring so that they can lay their eggs in good time for them to hatch in the following summer months. This happens when the adult female chooses to lay her eggs on, or near, a prolific aphid colony, so that when the eggs hatch their prey is guaranteed. The larvae will eat hundreds of aphids in about three weeks before they pupate and change into a beautiful flying beetle. Other species include the 22 spot ladybird, which are only two to three millimetres long. The 14 spot ladybird is only slightly larger. These yellow and black ladybirds are generally not as common, or as striking perhaps as the red ones, although I consider them just as beautiful. One reason why many ladybirds have such vivid and striking colours which announce their presence is that they are a defence mechanism, a common occurrence in the natural world. It is a warning to its predators that whilst they can be seen and caught, they do not taste nice. In this way only a few ladybirds are sacrificed to birds every year which allows the rest to continue their lives without fear of predation. The rarer species of ladybirds in Britain must be actively protected otherwise we will lose some of Contact Andy on 01895 520184 | email [email protected] | www.ffes.org.uk Quality Painters & Decorators • Internal/External Works • Property Maintenance • Specialist in Wallpapering • High Quality Workmanship • Commercial & Domestic • Liability Insurance • It’s our Pleasure to give a free Quote Michael Boorman 01628 662833 07976 370268 [email protected] All Craftsmen over 20 years experience Highly Recommended in www.local.which.co.uk 10 | hiyabucks.com Well...didn’t September come around quickly? I don’t know if I stopped at all in August! We were trying to cut the hay but with the weather being so on and off we had to sit it out. I managed to get out with the topper and top the fields that we are not doing for hay, ready for tupping the ewes in October. We purchased 50 welsh ewes from Wales to breed our own welsh mules. How we do this is we cross a blueface leister ram (lowland breed) with a welsh hill ewe (highland breed). Basically, you breed ewes which have the best of both worlds, a ewe that’s hardy, a great mother and very prolific.