Over the next month, you might see more ladybirds coming indoors - especially if you live in more urban areas of Cumbria like Carlisle and Kendal. While native ladybirds will over-winter in garden sheds, leaf litter and crevices in woody plants or fences, the non-native Harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) is looking for somewhere a little warmer to spend the winter diapause and will enter houses to congregate in corners. These ladybirds are originally from Asia so need drier and warmer conditions than the native species.

The Harlequin is very variable - hence the name. The two examples shown here were collected at the same time in the same place! Some colour patterns can look very similar to the native species but generally Harlequins have brown legs and undersides while native species tend to have black legs/underside. Harlequins tend to be quite large too compared to the more variable sizes seen in the 45+ native species.

Over-wintering ladybirds won't do any damage and shouldn't pose a problem wherever you find them. But if you do find some in your home and they have brown legs, you can be confident that they are the Harlequin. Do record any ladybirds that you see so we can better understand the key locations of Harlequins across Cumbria and how they might be interacting with the natives.

And if you want to see a plentiful number of Harlequins this month, Mayor's Drive near Bitts Park in Carlisle is usually a good spot.

Cumbria has over 1500 County Wildlife Sites, many on private land. We are working with @CumbriaWildlifeTrust to provide free surveys of these sites so we can understand their condition and help guide landowners to find management advice and support.

Find out more about County Wildlife Sites in general and across Cumbria using these resources - and contact the Cumbria County Wildlife Sites Project if you think you have a site and would welcome a survey.

https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/county-wildlife-sites
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-sites-and-nature-conservation/local-sites-and-nature-conservation
Or the LWS Hub: https://www.localwildlifesites.org/

It is apple season! The apple harvest looks good again this year - albeit with possibly smaller apples than usual. Traditionally managed orchards are good sites for biodiversity but their location and condition in Cumbria are not well understood. If you manage a traditional orchard, tell us about it. Do get in contact if you would be willing to share information about your orchard.

Ever wondered who works at @CBDC and what they do? Over the next few months, we'll feature a different team member each month and find out a little more about their role. So watch out in October for the first profile.....

We asked a well-known AI chatbot to create a cartoon of the CBDC team and it developed this image. Find out what it got right and what it got wrong in the coming months.

Biological recording in the autumn months sees a shift from recording flowering plants and summer migrant birds to fungi and winter migrant birds. Look out for the different fungal fruiting bodies that are appearing widely across different habitats at the moment - this year is already looking very promising for fungal forays.