I’m showing you the page from my journal first, then I’ll tell you a little story about a ‘bug discovery’ I had. You’ll see on the right my studies from the lady beetle I found, bottom left is studies of lady bug ‘faces’ so you can see at a glance how this is a handy way to identify them. It’s not really their face but the pronotum which is the part just behind the head on beetles. Then I have a quote by Paul Cezanne and had some fun adding a old style border. (Please click on pictures for a BIG clear image!)
Multi-Colored Asian Lady Beetle studies
You can read my note that the one leaf I actually traced to get the exact size on my paper. That’s a great thing to do when you’re making ‘scientific’ type notes and it saves time for studying other things about your subject.
Ok…now to get on with my bug story. Now this is really exciting, well for someone who’s interest in bugs has really peeked this summer it is!
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle pupa
When I went out to get the mail I find myself looking down at the weeds in my front ditch near the driveway. I’m getting more used to spotting insects and today was no different.
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle pupa 2
 I thought it was some kind of small bug but I didn’t have my (reading) glasses on so I didn’t really see what I was looking at as clearly. 😉
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle pupa 3
Well after taking pictures of it I gently set it down by some weeds in my yard, but when I looked at the enlarged pictures on my computer I realized what it was! I double checked in my Field Guide and yup, it’s a Lady Bug pupa. It’s a pupa just like butterflies come out of!
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle pupa 4
It was when I saw this picture that I realized it was hatching right now! Yikes!
Newly hatched Lady bug
So I ran back out into the yard and found where I had put it, brought it inside and put it in my plastic “Crisco” container you’ve seen me use before. He/she slept in this overnight (yes in my living room!) and the next morning there it was, all fresh and yellow, a brand new Lady Beetle! How cool is that?
Newly hatched with wings still very tender
Can you see the clear ‘spots’ on it’s yellow wing covers? I had a suspicion that these spots would turn into black spots we all are familiar with. And I think just like butterflies do when first emerged, I think it was letting it’s wings ‘develop’ and firm up…they looked quite tender at this point.
Newly hatched lady beetle
It looks like a little lemon seed, I love it!
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle with it's spots developed
Well what did I tell you? The very same Lady Bug now with it’s spots all developed. I released it as soon as possible onto the same weeds I found the pupa on. What a wonderful experience it was to see this Lady bug go through these changes!
My eyes are getting better at noticing little things on the weeds and plants around my yard and land. I find that I’m seeing many more bugs, interesting eggs and pupas. If you take your kids out on a bug hunt, tell them to pretend that they have “Eagle Eyes” or “Superman Vision” and they need to stand still, zoom in on leaves and watch for little things. It’s a wonderful hobby to get kids interested in, especially if you loan them a small camera like I use, and get them photographing them.
This little beetle is definitely waiting patiently on my list of things to be painted! Below are some note cards I created using the “Multi Colored Asian Lady Beetle” pictures.
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle by MaryMcandrew
Shop for a different greeting card template online at zazzle
Fantastic! What a great find – how lucky to see it emerge like that!
Carol
Oh, what a TRIP, Mary! How cool is that! What a wonderful sequence to have happened upon ~ I’m glad you shared it with us, too.
Outstanding blog post, Mary. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a lady bug develop from pupa to maturity. Great pics and sketches. Thanks for sharing this miniature miracle!
Nice post Mary – lovely to see the sequence so clearly.
Sue
Such a sweet post =) awesome journalism!
Thanks Alex and Sue,
I had fun writing this post after I put together the photos and did the sketches. I know it’s not a post so much about my drawing but the observation was the fun part here!
thanks Ted, so glad you stopped by! I do really get excited seeing something like this and I think there is SO MUCH going on around us if we look closer, all miracles!
Hi Irene and Carol!
That’s a good way to put it Irene, a TRIP! haha…I loved seeing it and truly was excited, and I DID run out to the yard to search for where I put this little leaf! haha…I knew you’d like it, fellow bug lover! So now guys, I have to do a little painting…I’ve always wanted to do a lady bug, add it to the list!
This was so interesting to me. I’ve love watching insects since I was a little girl. What a gift to be able to witness this. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us! nancy
Hi Nancy, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I hope I can find more interesting discoveries to share, always! I’ll have to share a memory of when I was a little girl and collected a whole bunch of tent caterpillars in my jewelry box!! hahah…I’ll have to put that in a post someday!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I’m always capturing some insect and watching what it does with my kids. We hatched a sphinx moth and even once kept a black widow. I know they are poisonous but they are really very shy and wish very much to be as far away from us as possible. I bought a couple of pretzel containers from Costco. They are awesome bug jars, large and clear. My husband drilled little holes in the top.
We put sticks in with the black widow and watched her spin her web, it really is beautiful to watch that happen and we feed her crickets. Then she layed an egg sack! She was very protective of it. Well, one morning tiny babies were emerging and my husband took the jar and all it’s inhabitants out to a remote area and let them all go.
I guess some people wouldn’t agree with that but we are catch and release only here! 🙂 She was kind enough to let us watch and we just wanted to let her go and live her life away from humans.
Kel
that’s great Kel! I wish I could have seen the Sphinx moth hatch! I used to raise Monarchs when I was a teenager and a few years ago raised several Black Swallowtails that I found as tiny, tiny caterpillars on my parsley! That was awesome. I save my big salad containers and berry containers, those little ones have holes that are good for the moths that are a bit larger.
Just yesterday I met two HUGE yellow garden spiders out in my field, it freaked me out a bit because I almost walked right into it’s web!! faint…..but I stood and photographed it and did a tiny sketch.
I’ll be posting about that in the future!
I will be sure to let my grandchildren read this post or at least look at the pictures! I didn’t know lady bugs had pupae like butterflies!
that would be great Timaree, can you take them on a bug walk? Like I said I think if kids were loaned or given a tiny camera with a good close up setting they could get quite interested! Let me know if they like the post!
What a fabulous find. And so beautifully captured in word and picture. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Wow – what a lucky find, and I love the drawings! I’m actually a complete scaredy cat with most bugs, but ladybirds (spot the English girl 😉 ) and butterflies are my exceptions! I took my class to the zoo last term and we were lucky enough to be in the butterfly house when one of the butterflies started to hatch – amazing opportunity for them….and the zoo guide ushered us out so they missed the end!
thanks Clare, it was pretty lucky a find! I’m glad you enjoyed; I stopped by your blog and just love your ink pages, also the pics of the yummy cakes made me hungry! What a nice cafe day out with your friend.
Hi Rachael, I’m a scaredy cat when it comes to spiders! (I have a post coming up in a bit about that!) But I try to find something interesting about bugs and that takes the ickyness away, if you can get past the hairy legs or quick movements thing! Too bad you didn’t get to see the butterfly finish, did you know you can order some species to hatch yourself? Not sure about England but you can here in the states.
I left you a comment on your blog, love it! what part of England are you from?
Yep, spiders are my big fear too – look forward to that post (but I think I’ll have a pillow ready to hide behind too!) Originally I’m from the north of England, not too far from Liverpool, but I now live in Madrid with my boyfriend (what an exciting move!) I used to order butterflies for my classes in England, but looks like they’re harder to get here, so didn’t manage it this year, I’ll look again for next year though cos the kids love them!
haha, we do sound alike when it comes to spiders! I’m trying to get better at not squashing ones I find in the house but carefully, respectfully removing them to outside! shudder…..
My boyfriend grew up near Liverpool, then Darbyshire, Shrewsbury areas. Now he lives in Northumberland, THAT is northern England! haha… I’m hoping to move over to England someday where he is. It’s nice to hear you teach, doing the butterfly thing is great with a class. Did you see my Nature Links page? lots of butterfly and bug links! Keep in touch!
Mary