Monthly Archives: April 2010

The wonders of milkweed

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

My happy moment of the day was seeing a big patch of 3-foot-tall milkweed – that means two things, a) monarch butterflies and b) lady beetles eating oleander aphids. Didn’t see oleander aphids, actually, but where there is milkweed there … Continue reading →

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Posted in Aphids, Butterflies and Moths, Insects, Lady beetles, Milkweed, Plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rose is a rose is a bug farm

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I found some rosebuds covered in aphids, which probably means lady beetles on rose blossoms next week! I collected some leaves with aphids, but obviously left the buds alone; no one likes to have strangers yanking potential roses off their … Continue reading →

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She’s a lady!

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Thrill of the day: my 7-spotted lady beetle laid eggs in her container! (So she is really a lady ladybug.) I’ll release her later today, in case she gets any ideas about eating the eggs. I hope they’re fertilized and … Continue reading →

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Posted in Coccinellinae, Lady beetles, Life Cycles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Lady beetle #3

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

This one is a Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata. It was on the office door when I arrived at work this morning – I captured it and now it’s munching on colorful aphids on my desk. I’ve only seen the … Continue reading →

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Bird of the Day

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I stopped in the little park on my way to work and was rewarded with a chubby, adorable, very shy hermit thrush. He kept flushing from the underbrush, flying into a distant tree, then dropping back into the underbrush just … Continue reading →

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First lady beetle capture of the year!

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

It’s the second lady beetle of the year, but the first I was able to capture. It’s a native species, too, not the Multicolored Asian. I was able to capture it and it’s in a container on my desk with … Continue reading →

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And the Coccinella paper pays off!

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Thanks to this paper, I’ve been able to ID a new species for BugGuide based solely on a larval image! At least two Coccinella difficilis are surrounding a single Coccinella septempunctata in this photo:

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Posted in Bug Links, Coccinellinae, Insects, Lady beetles | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Coccinella larvae, you are mine!

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Well, actually, Gordon and Vandenberg’s “Larval Systematics of North American Coccinella” is mine…I’m thrilled! It utterly made my day, especially because it came from Natalia Vandenberg via only one degree of separation. She’s one of my heroes – an entomologist … Continue reading →

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Posted in Coccinellinae, Lady beetles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments