Ladybird Beetles

Yes, I know, you call them Lady Bugs.

I shall refer to them as Ladybugs.

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Ladybird, Ladybird, fly away home!
Your house is on fire, Your children will burn.

If you have ever watched a Ladybug as it runs first in one direction as fast as it can, and then in another direction, if it did have a home it wouldn't know how to get there anyway.

There are many species of Ladybugs. Colors varying from dull dark red or yellow, or whitish, and black. Sometimes black with red or yellow spots, sometimes red or yellow with black spots. The spots are usually on either side of the thorax and one on each little wing cover. The ladybug is of great value to us, for during the larval as well as adult stages all species except one feed upon insects which we are glad to be rid of. They are specially fond of aphids and scale insects.

The reason I have put this on my web site is, many times in summer and early fall I have been in the mountains of Southern Arizona and have found zillions of these. One time while hiking the trail up from the third picnic table in Madera Canyon, [Green Valley Az.] I came over a little knoll and much to my amazement I was looking at an area of some 2000 foot square where the ground and every thing growing out of it was totally covered with Ladybugs. Needless to say I just had to get a few photos of this.

Shall we have a look at the Ladybug convention?

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When I say the ground was covered with them, it was.

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And the plants were covered also.

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And most of the rocks were covered.
I had scaped most of the Ladybugs off this rock because I was going to sit on it.
However, after second thoughts I decided not to.

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Beetle index page. Bird links page.