"Moonraker" wrote:
For some reason there seems lots of ladybirds around. Also a few
flutter byes, mainly red admirals. As there are very few flowers still
around I was wondering what they were living on. Puzzle solved, I was
down the garden near my pear tress, there they were feeding on the
rotten windfalls, I did not know that that was a food source for
them..

Red Admirals can get quite sloshed on fermenting windfall fruit; they
love it. Have seen one or two but any others are probably all in someone
else's orchard.

I've been invaded by hosts of ladybirds all summer which is probably why
we've barely seen an aphid around. Now they're hiding everywhere and
each time I prune a shrub or cut back a perennial they emerge in droves.
They particulary seem to congregate in the euonymus that climbs up the
back wall of our garage - probably as it faces south and will be a warm
and sheltered place to hibernate.

--
Sue