UK Ladybird Survey

I spent this morning at London Zoo visiting the first ever British ladybird habitat there to celebrate the return of the Ladybird brand to Woolworths.co.uk. (Yes, that's right, the Woolworths stores may have closed but we can buy all the Woolworths goodies online, including the Ladybird children's clothing range!)

Today's event marks the start of a partnership with the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) to help monitor British ladybirds, as the harlequin ladybird from Asia is a challenge. (It eats British ladybirds and competes with them for food.)

Now here's the fun bit: We are being asked to take photos on our camera phones of any ladybirds we see - in our gardens, on the street, on the train, anywhere - and then text the word LADYBIRD to 83040 in order to receive a link to allow them to upload their photos on the UK Ladybird Survey website.

You can download a free kid's pack from: www.wooliesHQ.co.uk/garden. The pack includes a little ladybird spotters wallchart, species and photography guide and ladybird cupcake recipe. I've got one of the packs and had no idea there were so many varieties of British ladybird. I can also report the cupcake recipe is yummy!

• London Zoo Visitor Guide
• London Zoo Photos

Image source: Hill and Knowlton | London Travel Blog | Follow AboutLondon on Twitter