Ladybirds, as gardeners know, are good bugs to have amongst the fruit and veg. They eat aphids. Yay!
And they need to get gobbling now. For despite my recent whingeing about cold wind and lack of spring weather, the greenfly are already with us. And there’s a reason – our warmer winters.
We may have had endless rain, bad floods and storms this year in the UK, but we have not had the hard ground frosts that help to check slug and aphid populations; nor have had for several years. Back in early February when I was pruning the autumn raspberry bed up at the allotment, I was also finding ladybirds out and about. They are supposed to be hibernating (overwintering) between October and March, so hopefully they were finding something to eat and hadn’t simply been fooled into waking up too soon by the unusually warm February temperatures.
The ladybird in the photo is nestling in my garden sage bed, spotted last summer. And for those of you who wish to find out more about ladybirds (Coccinellidae) there is a brilliant website at UK Ladybird Survey. And if you live in the UK, they want to have details of sightings.
#7-daynaturephotochallenge #day 2
With thanks to Anna at Una Vista Di San Fermo who nominated me.
Tish Farrell 
I can’t recall my last sighting of ladybirds.
Those greens are quite leafy
Love your macro ! I can see the pores of the sage leaves , the water droplets and that lovely ladybird ,as if I were there with my reading glasses , on!
I put my glasses on specially to take the photo. It obviously worked :O
We have a few species at our place. In SA there is one originally imported from Europe, a seven spot variety, according to Sonel. I don’t have a photo of this particular species on record.
There must be something in the air for sure, as we have had an abundance of snails this year – first time ever!
Lots of snails. And in a drought. I wonder why that is. Are they coming out in search of moisture perhaps, and that’s why you’re seeing them?
Have no idea. The rains were late so we had few ‘Parktown Prawns’ – King Cricket – which are the snails’ natural enemy. Also, the mower was bust so the grass got a bit long and there were fewer visits from the Hadeda Ibis who poke around and aerate the soil and also munch on creepies.
But we have since had one or two heavy down pours and I haven’t seen a snail for a week or so.
Nature is finely balanced and tip it one way and who knows what will happen?
Yep. We tinker at our peril.
We have ladybugs and also bugs that resemble them but aren’t. I remember lots of the former when i was growing up. I love the somewhat coy shot you got of this beauty.
janet
I feel it was pretending that it could not be seen 🙂
What a great find, Trish. I love it.
Love to see Ladybirds. Beautiful photo, Tish. 🙂
Thank you, Sylvia
I love to see Ladybirds – such good luck:) There’s no question that Mother Nature is confused. Apparently it’s to get considerably warmer next week…..let’s hope you can get out into the gardens. Janet:)
Warmth would be so welcome. We had quite a bright day yesterday, but today it’s back to that biting wind and gloom. I’ve been gardening indoors which doesn’t go down too well 🙂
It might be warm today:)
May be a tincy-wincy bit warmer but WET here. Have a good weekend, Janet.
Yesterday morning/early afternoon started out to be a glorious day…went to theatre in Richmond for matinee. After show, it was cold, damp, followed by rain…but at least we saw a little beautiful sunshine. 🙂
Looks snug as a bug in a rug, or sage plant in this case. 🙂
It has found a very cosy niche, hasn’t it. Though I don’t think sage is a good place to find passing aphids.
Your sage is looking lovely! It’s been several years since I saw a ladybird. I have been heartened though by the number of bees and also monarch butterflies in the garden.
That’s good to hear about the monarch butterflies. I think their numbers are in crisis in the US.
I heard that. We are such a negligent species; bumbling around knocking the natural world over in our greed to reach the “goodies.” Thankfully that’s a gross generalisation, and there are also lots of careful gardeners in Eden. Hopefully it will be enough.
Yep, I’ve seen ladybirds throughout winter, but greenfly, no thank goodness!
I was just thinking of you (about paying you a visit) when I saw a “like” to some reply by me :D. I love when I see telepathy in action. About lady bugs – I have to say I haven’t grown a thing in my life, but I love them and have always been told they were good luck omens. Now I see why. This close up is beautiful. It looks as if it is meant to belong there. Are these mint leaves?
Telepathy in action – can’t be better and the ladybirds are cheering little bugs, aren’t they. Though they do emit a rather unpleasant chemical if they think you’re planning on eating them. The one in the photo is inside a whorl of sage leaves.
Oh sage, great plant for ladies 🙂 Thank you, Tish. Sorry if I don’t stay longer (have to work through weekend – unpaid)
That’s grim, unpaid working, but yes, sage tea is very good for us 🙂
Such a sharp clear photo Tish and doesn’t the red ladybird look cosy in the bright green sage leaf.
Here we buy love lady bugs and preying mantis egg sacks from the garden centers. Placed in the garden, they’ll get rid of most of the pests, though the mantis will give you quite a start if you move a leaf to find an adult staring back at you. 🙂
Mantis in the garden sounds very exciting, John. I like the idea of being able to buy bug egg sacks too.
It’s something to see, Tish. You hang the sack and in a week or so, it cracks open and the baby mantis march out. Most will never be seen again and those you do see will be so much bigger. The lady bugs come in a container which you open up and spread the ladies around your garden. Mr roses remain aphid-free when I buy either one. So do my neighbors. 🙂