Friday, July 3, 2015

A Ladybug is Born


This was the scene yesterday in the garden. Dave and I just happened to be checking out the ladybird/ladybug pupae at the exact moment that one of them was emerging!


I wondered what this process would look like. Would the bug leave a case behind? (Yes!)


It retreated to the underside of the leaf. Ladybugs apparently have to harden their shells after pupating, and during that half-day hardening process they gain pigment -- including spots. They also have to hide from predators. So maybe that's what was going on.

I checked this morning and a few more have emerged. Even the shiny, hardened ones still look more or less plain orange, though. We seem to have a spotless variety.

Yesterday wasn't a bad day to be born, temperature-wise. The inferno of the previous day subsided as quickly as it came, and this morning it's even a bit chilly (63ยบ F).

You'll notice that I always report temperatures in Fahrenheit. When we moved to England, Dave very quickly transitioned to the Celsius scale, but I still think in Fahrenheit -- in fact, it drives me crazy when I ask him the temperature on a beautiful, cool sunny day and he says, "23 degrees." I tell him to speak in real temperatures!
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6 comments:

  1. ellen abbottJuly 3, 2015 at 3:36 PM

    so cool! lucky you were in the right place at the right time. one year we had so many monarch caterpillars on the butterfly weed and I was able to watch the whole life cycle from egg laying to emerging as a butterfly.

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  2. SharonJuly 3, 2015 at 4:11 PM

    What an interesting process to see those bugs emerge.

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  3. Linda SueJuly 3, 2015 at 8:43 PM

    I agree about the REAL temperature...it is easier to understand, out of 100 degrees the scale is understandable. I asked my English frien about it and she said "you just know...." Your ladybug is cuter now.Catching up with all of your posts in the last month! GREAT! Delightful , entertaining, I don't even have to DO anything, just ooooo and awwwww. Thank you!

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  4. ElizabethJuly 4, 2015 at 12:31 AM

    Astounding. You should also be called Steve the Science Guy. Honestly, though, those pictures are thrilling.

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  5. The BugJuly 4, 2015 at 3:10 AM

    Cute bug! One of these days I think I'll just make myself grasp Celsius. And maybe meters too. We'll see.

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  6. eJuly 4, 2015 at 5:51 AM

    I love these photos of your garden and the life in it. As for the weather, it is awful here...steam bath city.

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