Category Archives: Lady beetles

RIP, Fluffy

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

Sadly, my little scymnine lady beetle larva has died. *sniff* I just can’t seem to keep this subfamily alive! I saw more larvae in the same milkweed patch, so I’ll try again – but leave some in the wild, lest … Continue reading →

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It’s a lady beetle-eat-lady beetle world…

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

…still, it hardly seems fair for two active larvae to gang up on a prepupal larvae for breakfast. I gave them a lot more aphids and although that particular prepupa is never going to pupate, I hope the rest of … Continue reading →

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Buggy goodness!

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

My catch of the day was a 6mm scymnine lady beetle larva, finally! I’ve never been able to raise scymnines – adults haven’t mated or laid eggs in captivity, the larvae I collected last summer all died within days – … Continue reading →

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The important things

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I managed to miss two buses due to nature sightings – one while I was collected a lady beetle larva, the other when I was trying to ID a warbler’s butt high above me in a tree. I didn’t get … Continue reading →

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Birds and bugs, oh my!

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Butterfly Psyche

I had a GREAT bird and bug commute. Since I left the house an hour early, I spent an hour strolling in Old City, where a single tree had 7, count ‘em, 7 species of warbler, including the very rare … Continue reading →

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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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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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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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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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