Saturday, January 28, 2012

Discoveries




When I saw these in the garden one evening recently I didn't know what they were. They have a resemblance to ladybugs but they certainly don't look like lady bugs. Then I had a lightbulb moment - maybe they are ladybug larvae!
A google search confirmed my suspicion.




I had never thought about lady bug larva before. The larvae hatch from tiny yellow eggs and shed their skin four times, changing appearance each time. I think these larvae are near the end of their changes, almost ready to pupate.




Late yesterday Little Miss E showed me "something strange" she had found low on a tree. It's a brand new adult ladybug just hatched from its pupa case!




When the adults first emerge their spots aren't visible, they apparently become visible over a few hours as their exoskeleton hardens.




The pupal stage lasts one to two weeks, which accounts for the spider web.




Early this morning I went looking for the ladybug but it had flown to a safer spot, leaving the empty pupa shell behind.




No spotty ladybugs today but I did find another spotty Oleander Butterfly feeding on our Duranta shrub.







As you may have guessed, I love butterflies!

Sharing at Saturday Sareenity.

30 comments:

Ruby said...

Very beautiful macros!

Giga said...

Nigdy nie widziałam jeszcze larwy biedronki, i dziękuję za te zdjęcia. Motyl jest śliczny. Mam nadzieję, że woda po deszczach już opada.Pozdrawiam. *** I have never seen yet ladybirds larvae, and thank you for these pictures. A butterfly is beautiful. I hope that the water after the rains have opada.Pozdrawiam.

Anonymous said...

Once again, you have captured nature beautifully. I saw some of these bugs a while ago around our house :)

Nadege, said...

Amazing find, you have captured these little bugs at an incredible moment in their lives.

eileeninmd said...

Wow, what an amazing find and photos. Wonderful photos.

ally said...

I've never seen them before either
Fab series of photos
Love the butterfly on the purple flower :-)

Marijke said...

How beautiful you've captured the birth of the bug. The butterfly's are stunning.
Wish you a lovely weekend
Marijke

Anonymous said...

Fantastische Makros.
Wundervoll!!

GLG Marianne ♥

Liz said...

Once again, beautiful macros, Karen. Your humble camera really has a powerful zoom.
I captured a couple of ladybug larvae a couple of weeks ago but it was a windy day and they were on the stalk of a relatively thin weed so the images aren't brilliantly clear. Thanks for identifying them. I wondered if they were related to the ladybug

Lynette said...

Wow! I never knew any of that about ladybugs. I am still sitting in a mist of astonishment. Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos as well as the information. Absolutely fascinating.

Sylvia K said...

I do love ladybugs, but knew nothing about them really until reading your post! Thank you as always for sharing the interesting information! Your macro shots are superb as always and the butterfly! Breathtaking! I do love the color! Hope your weekend is off to a great start! Enjoy!

Sylvia

Gillian Olson said...

Intersting shots of the ladybug life cycle, I had no idea that they started out without spots. The butterfly is beautiful.

Deanna said...

You really know how to take these gorgeous pics of butterflies, flowers, and bugs. You have such beautiful focus!!

Helen Campbell said...

These are beautiful photos. I'd never seen a ladybug larvae, so learned something new. Have a wonderful weekend!

Anonymous said...

When I saw your first shot, my mouth fell open (pardon me!) in awe and it didn't close (pardon me again!) until I got to the end. These are wonderful macros!

mariondejong said...

Love your discoveries and stories, gave me some learning moments today!

Great pictures!
Marion

Juliana said...

uuuh... monsters and beauties))

Unknown said...

What a fascinating discovery! Well done!

LadyFi said...

Beautiful butterfly shots, but wow! witnessing the birth of a ladybug and then catching it on film is amazing!

Beautiful shots!

Anna Lear said...

These are all so beautiful, and the ladybug shots are fascinating and very well done! It's winter here in New Mexico, USA, so I am swooning over your summery shots.

Unknown said...

this is so good...its like a documentary...the entire flow and shot n detail in simple terms for every stage is so very fantastic!

superlike this post!

and thank you for contributing to Saturday Sareenity.

Ruth Bernssen Bø said...

Beautiful close up photos

Angie said...

Whoa! Karen, these are absolutely brilliant captures! You are amazing! I have never seen ladybug larvae so this is a real treat. I LOVE your garden! And again, you are brilliant with a camera! Just simply brilliant. Wow! And your capture of the butterfly is just gorgeous, too. Really loved your composition and the purple Duranta shrub is sooo pretty. You have a lovely lovely back yard.

Aiketa said...

I never thought about it before either. Thank you for the biology class! ;)

The butterfly pics are so great.

Visiting from Saturday Sareenity.

Tatjana Parkacheva said...

Very interesting post and lovely macro photos.

Regards and best wishes

Isabelle said...

Thank you for the science lesson :)
beautiful nature at her best!

Gail Dixon said...

I love butterflies, too! And I did not know that ladybugs hatched from pupa cases. I always learn something here. Gorgeous photos as well.

Karin M. said...

Wow ... a stunning series of photographs, fantastic shots..
Best regards, Karin

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous macros.

A late visit from Saturday Sareenity, hope you can still visit my Bridge View entry.

Tezzie said...

Wow...stuff I never knew about ladybugs! Gorgeous photos...and thanks for the interesting info!

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