ladybirds

22 May 2012

Ladybirds and pine shoots

Further to my previous post about the emergence of spring flowers and the bright optimistic green of new foliage, I’m going to make a quick interim post with a couple more photos on that theme – and my next post will be the work in progress blog that I’m working on. I apologise for getting side-lined, but if I don’t post photos I’ve taken here, they just languish un-loved as files on my hard drive.

We’d had such a lovely day last Saturday on our day out that we decided to avail ourselves of another favourable weather forecast for Sunday and do it all again. Just because we could.

Please click on any of the photographs for a larger view, or if your browser supports it, click to open in a new tab to see them at the size I prepared them.

The bright green new shoots of the pine trees had developed tangibly in the intervening eight days and were starting to stretch out as new branches. It also must be the time of year that ladybirds emerge and we saw more in that one walk than I’ve seen in a long time. This particular young tree was especially abundant and I was able to get quite close to take some photographs. I loved the abstract of them against the vibrant green textures.


We also saw more of the delicate Pink Purslane flowers I posted last week too – they do seem to like to nestle against fallen rotting logs and where they must get occasional patches of sunshine too. The day was largely ‘fine’ but we did get odd flashes of warm sunshine through the trees and it’s always such a delight to me to see the patterns that form as it fingers its way between the trees to the forest floor. One of my very favourite things.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy and re-charge my flagging spirits.

14 Jul 2010

Keep up the good work!

At the weekend whilst working in the garden I spotted several ladybirds – and moved each of them onto a rose I have that is totally infested with green fly. I regularly clean them off only to see as many again the following day. They just love the emerging new shoots – on a rose that has been rather slow to get going this year after I both moved it and re-potted it this spring.

All of the ladybirds remained on the plant for the next few days, despite horrible cool and wet autumnal-like weather with a very stiff breeze; they diligently worked away, chomping their way through my greenfly – I say my like I’d choose to actually own the greedy, promiscuous blighters.

I just went out to the bin and went over to monitor their progress – and was astonished to see that the rose was almost cleaned of greenfly – a handful of odd specimens remain – but the plant is as clean as it’s been all summer. I could actually see 2 of the ladybirds still munching away. I suspect the others might have fallen off, stuffed to bursting and moaning that they couldn’t possibly eat another single thing, not even a wafer thin mint! I imagine they’re lying in the leaf litter beneath the rose, clutching their stomachs.

I grabbed my ‘jewellery’ camera which was close by, as one of the ladybirds devoured a greenfly, seemingly almost half it’s own size, in a matter of seconds.

Please click the photos for a larger, clearer view.

It’s not very sharp as it’s a very dark day and the stiff breeze was moving the leaf and the poor ladybird significantly and locking focus was somewhat tricky from an inch away. You can just see the last trailing edge of a disappearing greenfly.

Aren’t his iridescent wings just gorgeous.

I love hover flies – we seem to get quite a lot of different species in the garden and they fascinate me to watch them – with their little flat ended tongues probing leaves for sap and their undercarriage that they drop and raise as they come to rest and take off – they never bother you or come into the house, just go quietly about their business. This little chap – and he was a little one – was working away on the sticky sap left behind by the greenfly – so they made a good team.

I wonder how much they charge and if they have any mates who want work?