The Big Guy let me know we had an alligator in our garden this morning, and brought me pictures to prove it.
I was so excited to see it, but also a little disappointed it wasn't truly an alligator. Although if we lived in Florida or a jungle somewhere, I might be less disappointed and more concerned. I thought he was joking, but no!
This is a "lady bug" or Ladybird larvae. Guess what they eat? That's right! OTHER BUGS that will destroy my roses and veggies.
Finally, gentle readers, we have a winner.
We welcome this tiny "alligator" into our garden. When it grows up, it won't be such an odd looking bug. Everyone knows what a grown up Ladybug looks like. I've seen swarms of Ladybugs in the California, USA forests, probably from people who were illegally growing marijuana when it was a crime to do so, but there's no worry of too many showing up here. Yet.
Here's a final "not so great" close-up of the little soldier marching away, it looks like it's saluting us. It's about 1/2 an inch in size or 1.27cm -- so if you see one of these 'lil guys in your yard, let it be. It can eat its way through a massive amount of pests. I am ashamed to admit that I've smushed them before because I thought it was a dangerous, biting pest. I mean look at it! Some of my guilt has been washed away by writing this. But only some. I'm going to go online now and look for a place to buy some larvae that is native to my area and dedicate a little bit of my garden to them. There are plenty of pests for them to snack on for sure!
Here's a little bit of news I got from the sidebar in my Bing search engine:
Ladybugs have been in space! In 1999, NASA sent a few ladybugs into space along with aphids to see how the aphids could escape their predators in zero gravity.
Cultural significance for Christians:
Mary (Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings, and the spots of the seven-spot ladybird (the most common in Europe) were said to symbolize her seven joys and seven sorrows.
Thanks for reading, and yes ...these images on my blog are always mine unless noted.
