"My ABC's Of Nature" Series-Letters "K" & "L"-Part 17

in #nature6 years ago

"My ABC's of Nature" Series-Letters "K" & "L"-Part 17

LETTER "K"

This is where I am supposed to put my Katydid photos; however, I am unable to do it because when I lost over 500 of my photos, my Katydids were among the ones that were lost. I had a regular Katydid, but the one I am most upset about are the photos of a Slender Meadow Katydid. I don't even have a flower or tree to post beginning with the letter "K." If I waited any longer to find something, this series would probably not have been posted until next spring. So, on to the next letter.

LETTER "L"

LADY BEETLE

The Lady Beetle is more commonly known as the Ladybug here in the United States. When I found this one on a leaf, I had no idea why it wasn't red and black until I did my research.

Ladybugs are not bugs; they are beetles and scientists prefer to call them, "Lady Beetles." Europeans have called them "Ladybirds" and "Ladybird Beetles" for over 500 years. Here in America, the name "Ladybird" was replaced with the name "Ladybug." There is an interesting legend about Ladybugs. It has been said that during the Middle Ages, the European crops were over-run by pests and farmers began praying to the Blessed Lady, the Virgin Mary. Soon afterwards, the farmers began to see Ladybugs in their fields. They noticed that these Ladybugs had saved their crops from pests. That is when the farmers began to call the red and black beetles, "Lady Beetles," named for the Virgin Mary. The red color of the bettle represents her cloak and the black spots of the beetle represent her sorrows.

This Ladybug is orange because it is a different species from Asia and it is called an "Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle." It is not known if this was a controlled introduction to North America in the late 1970's. They are orange, brown, tan and even red, and they have a variety of spots and spot patterns on them. The North American red ladybugs have only 7 black spots on them. This species is hardy and can adapt to a variety of temperature ranges and habitats. They are a beneficial insect because they can eat up to 50 aphids a day, and they eat other plant killing insects. However, this Asian species has become a bit of a pest. They are beginning to replace the native North American red and black species and they invade homes and buildings in the winter to hibernate. The Asian Lady Beetle gives off a foul odor and a yellow stain. And, they bite. I enlarged these photos so you would be able to get a closer look.

Don't miss the fly on the right hand side.

This series will continue with the Letter "L" in my next post. Thanks for looking!

Information Source: thoughtco.com, insectidentification.org

Image Source: 100% own work.

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I have some Katydid

Here

And what a beauty it is! Is it just fat or pregnant? Oh, my poor Katydid photos; I sure do miss them. Wait until you see my beautiful pregnant praying mantis. : )

Is only a junior a few months only.
When they were small , I did noticed their nesting in the bush.
I make a series about them. Playing with them all the time, up until they left.
Make some good steems out from them. Lol

I would love to see that so I will have to search for them. That series must have been a big hit. : )

In the Earlier day, they were single post.
Wasn't all link up.
My newer series , I make them link up into Topic, so they are all together easily to find.
With over 450 posts they are now buried very difficult to look for them. Hint.

OK, thanks for the hint but I still want to try to find them when I have more time. Thanks!

My nick-name as a kid was "bug".

For real? I would have stayed far, far away from you. LOL!

Really cute Ladybug among nice green leaves! Good findings! ;)

Thank you my friend @tangmo! : )

You're welcome! ;)

When the farm up the hill plants and harvests soybeans, I get over run with Asian beetles on the day they pick the beans. Suddenly there are millions of homeless beetles and it seems like they all come to my house! Glad they have planted corn the last few years. I haven't seen a real ladybug in ages.

Oh no...I feel sorry for you with the invasion. I haven't seen a real ladybug either in a very long time.

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