Ladybug larva, yep. Helping you with your aphid problems

Well hey, I am not espousing chemicals either, but I am profoundly uncomfortable with the continual movement of non-native bacteria and fungi into an ecosystem which has not been able to adapt at speed of global travel. And yes, we are paying the price for the untrammeled movements of organic materials across oceans. Regarding plant species, we have witnessed the dying of bluebell woods as the more vigorous Spanish bluebell out-competes and hybridises with our native bluebells. RRD from eriophyid mites have arrived from Asia (along with citris longhorn beetle and a host of other problematic life-forms) during my lifetime....and there is no cure on the immediate horizon. For some, who must have variety and novelty, I guess this is seemingly a price worth paying....and for sure, we cannot turn the clock back to a simpler time when we grew natives, wild flowers and local foodplants....and nor would I wish to do so. I do, however, wish for a wider research base, with a more rounded agenda and a bit more of an attempt to understand the dynamic interconnectedness of life. The theory that Japanese knotweed beetles will simply die when they have eaten all the host plant is rubbish - the beetles are being introduced because the current chemical treatment costs massive amounts of money (Japanese knotweed being, in turn, an introduced species with no natural predator). See how the cycle turns?- with no natural predators to act as a counterbalance, we really have no idea what effect this will have upon our finely nuanced eco-system. Moreover, others are not happy with having these things foisted upon them (such as our groundwater being poisoned) - I just hope that the greater awareness we now have regarding how we operate in a shared world will encompass a more rounded and holistic view where a short term profit is not developed at the long-term expense of balance. Hopefully, the brouhaha about chemicals will also spread so we question short-term fixes because we really do not fully understand the workings of the natural world.... Writing this from the fens where a tradition of intensive agriculture and monocropping is turning the most fertile alluvial soils in the UK into a dustbowl reminiscent of Oklahoma in the 1930s. Yep, I am gloomy and somewhat despairing.

Over on this side of the big pond Lady Beetles, Lady Birds, come in through any wee entry point they can find. While mostly what we see is identified as the Asian Lady Beetle I'd suspect others also come in for the winter. As with any other insect in the house, they do not belong so do what ever you need to to eliminate those in your living quarters and diligently search for any potential points of entry outside and seal those with caulk. They only need a very small crack to get in.

If you're in Canterbury - ask at your regional council in the weed control section. They usually have contact with the bio-control agencies and may directly know of someone who is working in this area. Another possible is your local branch of Tree Crops, the Soil Association, and your Biodynamic producers - probably more the latter two. You might be able to check with whatever MAF has morphed into to see if there's a Biodynamic field officer in your area you could contact direct -even if you aren't interested in that method overall.