Visitors to Jesmond Old Cemetery will be hunting for wintering ladybirds tomorrow (October 24th), as part of a guided walk organised by the Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN). The 90-minute Cemetery Ladybirds walk costs £2.50 and invites participants to search gravestones, ivy and trees for the insects.

Newly appointed NHSN naturalist Matthew Harrison will lead the walk. He recently made headlines by discovering a ladybird species not previously recorded in the region in the cemetery grounds. “The engravings on gravestones are great places for the ladybirds to hide during the winter,” Harrison told JesmondLocal. “It’s really good fun to look around as you’ll never know what you’re going to find.”

Local recording projects, such as the North East Ladybird Spot, have aimed to track ladybird species across Newcastle, Northumberland and County Durham.

Since its launch in 2021, 27 species of the “north east’s most striking invertebrates” have been observed and more than 10,000 ladybird records have been shared via the citizen science initiative run by the NHSN.

However, the State of Nature 2023 report highlights a significant decline in the distribution of UK invertebrates, including insects. Since 1970, the distribution of insects that provide natural pest control, including predatory ladybirds, has declined by an average of 34% across the UK.

Gordon Port, a local zoologist, ecologist and senior lecturer at Newcastle University, said: “With warmer conditions we are seeing new species in the North East which were formerly only found further south.

“The hot summer of 2026 gave species like the familiar seven-spot ladybird the opportunity to keep breeding throughout the season and we saw large numbers.” Port explained that of the 48 ladybird species found in Britain, 29 have been found in the north east. But if conditions are to remain too hot and dry, “the small insects that ladybirds feed on become scarce and ladybirds starve.”

By gathering local data during the walk, attendees will be contributing to the region’s conservation efforts. No prior experience is needed, and sweep nets and other equipment will be provided.

Tickets for the ladybird hunt at Jesmond Old Cemetery are available through the Natural History Society of Northumbria website.