Rhyzobius chrysomeloides – Yes, believe it or not, not al ladybirds are brightly coloured and have spots, some can be quite inconspicuous like this one. It is small, very small, at 2.5-3.5 mm (about 1/8 in) long. It is a fairly recent discovery, first found in Britain as recently as 1996, on a pine tree on a motorway embankment in Surrey. It has been steadily spreading northwards ever since.
Nature Journeys 
The name of this one amused me. When I think ‘keel,’ I think of boats. I looked up some articles about ladybirds, but even though some mentioned the keel, none described it. It seems to be part of the insect’s undercarriage!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You got it in one, Linda, and that part of the undercarriage can define identification.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! A 1/8th” long. Superb photo.
Reminds me that I can now afford to buy another macro lens (with the money my Father recently left me), but first I have to get the hip surgery to enable me to get back to nature walks to enable use of a macro lens 🙂 – may the lockdown be over in the coming months so that elective surgery can go ahead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unfortnately the delays here are tremendous in the health service after the first lockdown. I have had to pay privately to see a lung specialist to try and finally get down to finding out what is wrong with me. Even then the wait has been over a month.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to pay for everything privately if I want to chose my own surgeon (although my private hospital insurance pays for the hospital costs and most of the surgeon’s fees. New Monday’s annual cardiology review appointment has been rescheduled to November. Not sure what the waiting time is to get a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon these days, but certainly having private health insurance gets me close to the top of the queue.
Hope the lung specialist has some answers when you see him/her. I just hope the problem is treatable 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Vicki 🙂 We are lucky we have the NHS, although we do kind of pay for it with our National Insurance contributions here. Covid-19 certainly has but things on hold with many delays, but the main thing is to stay safe, and get through this one day at a time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s the unknown relative that all at once shows up in town…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Instead of spotty, it looks hairy – as in a teenaged boy moving away from acne to sporting a newly hairy chin!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a different one!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Because it is in my nature: what on earth was the person who discovered this Ladybird doing on a motorway embankment in 1996?
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually wondered the same thing, Ark 🙂
LikeLike
Interesting find, Pete. Similar shape but such different colouring. Very nice!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Belinda 🙂 It was an exciting find.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a new one for me. I looked them up on NBN Atlas and see that there are records in my part of Surrey. Presumably it isn’t native given it was only spotted so recently, although I’d be interested to know whether it’s moved in of its own accord or has been carried here by people.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I use the NBN Atlas quite frequently, and it states it is native there, which is a contradiction really.
LikeLiked by 1 person