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LinkedInPosts Tagged: lady bug
The Hitchhiker
Oleander aphids, those cartoonish-looking yellow insects with black legs and cornicles, are commonly found on oleanders. Hence their name. But they also are partial to milkweeds, the host plant of the monarch butterfly. It's a daily challenge to rid those Draculalike pests from our milkweed...
A lady beetle picks up a hitchhiker, an oleander aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
One on the back and one in the mouth. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The oleander aphid maintains its hold on the back of its predator, a lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle prepares for take-off, with the oleander aphid still clinging to its back. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Christmas Bug
If there ever were a Christmas bug, it would be the ladybug, aka lady beetle. The insects (family Coccinellidae) are brightly colored and spread joy in the garden when they feast on aphids. Last summer we enjoyed watching them hanging out and hooking up. Their voracious appetites reminded us of...
Ladybug on gardener's glove
Christmas bug
Fly Away Home
We netted the floundering California lady beetle (Coccinella californica) aka "lady bug," from our swimming pool. She didn't look like the familiar lady beetle, reddish orange with black spots. One spot was all she had. And little life left. Then, slowly, miraculously, she opened her wings to...
A California lady beetle, aka ladybug, spreads her wings to dry after a near-drowning in a swimming pool. The lady beetle is a beneficial insect. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
