Granddaughter spotted a cluster of ladybirds clinging to leaves and old flowers of the Rose of Sharon plant beside the gate.

I did a bit of Googling and discovered that ladybirds go into hibernation during late autumn and early winter. They cluster together in leaf litter or in bark or in our Rose of Sharon plants! If it gets very cold they might try to hibernate inside houses – not a good idea as they will come out of hibernation early because of central heating. They won’t find aphids in our houses so they will starve. Coax those ladybirds outside before they cosy down indoors.