March Of The Lady Birds | Photo Album
Lady Birds or Lady Bugs have always had a special place in my heart... I have this memory of going to the mountains when I was really young and all the stumps and trees were just covered with them. I remember asking to go back to that location over and over after that.. there was just something really magical about it.
Turns out in the fall they swarm like this to keep warm.. they find a nice location in the sun and gather up together in groups. It makes for a pretty stunning display.
To this day finding just one makes me smile, a whole swarm makes me feel like I stepped into a fairy tale. So on a recent adventure, coming upon a part of the forest that was lined with them really made my day.
The variety found in North America is defined by the 7 spots on their backs.. because of this they are seen as good luck, I just find them beautiful.
Legend says they got their name when a mass insect infestation threatened to wipe out the crop of a certain farming community. After praying to the Virgin Mary or Lady Mary, the Lady Birds arrived and cleared the fields of the harmful insects and from there on out were called Ladies.
Lady Birds are very beneficial to agriculture though and many even buy them in bulk to add to their gardens as a way to naturally ward of harmful insects. There are actually individuals that come up to the mountains where I live to collect them and transfer them to the farms out in the valley.
So, Lady Birds... what’s not to love about them? They will always be one of my favorite things...
Take time to enjoy the small things in life...
Much Love,
Justine
All photos taken by me with my fuji x-t2
This is crazy, how can there be so many of them? :o
We used to count their spots with my sis when we were young. We thought the amount of spots tells their age. I always thought that the smaller ones with only two or three spots were the cutest. We'd gone crazy if we would have found as many of them as you did! I love these photos. :)
Thank you so much! It’s pretty rare to find them like this.. well by accident I guess. I’ve only seen them like this a few times in my life and only in the deep forest.. the experience is pretty amazing 😊
Must have been fairy tale-amazing!✨
I have to go for a lady bird "hunt" in the forest when I get back in Finland.
I had no idea anyone called them lady birds. Just lady bugs
Posted using Partiko Android
They are known around Europe as Lady Birds, from the origins of being called Our Lady’s Birds.. in the US we just call them bugs 😜, even though technically they aren’t really a bug, but a beetle.
Wow, I just really geeked out there haha. I usually refer to them as lady bugs, but think Lady Birds sounds really elegant. ❤️
In Norfolk in the UK, they are called "Bishi Barney Bees"
What? I didn't know that! But what happens after fall? do they die in the winter? A lot of insects do hibernate, Lady Bugs do too?
I knew Lady Bugs were badass hunters but I didn't knew anything else! I leaning so much right now lol
Oh. My. Gosh. Am I about to educate the for dummies guy!?! best moment ever...
They actually live for 2-3 years and I think they just hibernate in this way through the winter. Where they were it doesn’t get terribly cold, and I have seen them all the way up until January like this. Where they go after that, I’m not actually sure. But I do know this is when you see them clumped together like so.
They are amazing.. definitely worth looking into a bit 🐞❤️
Holy shit they hibernate in groups? That's fascinating! Do they look for warmer places as winter progresses or they just take a stand against the cold? lol Propably in spring they go out a make more Lady Bugs but the way they manage to avoid freezing in the winter is so cool, seriously THEY'RE SO LITTLE!!!
Yep! The huddle up together in the sun during the day and then take cover in a log/bark etc when it gets colder. They are so little! And so stinking adorable ...
there must have been something very delicious for them
I liked ladybugs a lot till one year when they were so many and invading homes. I had to replace like ten a day because they were in the house.
It was nice to read your blog, I didn't know that about them. I love the first photo, but the others are wonderful as well. That's why I love Steemit, I'm always learning, there's always something to learn here :) Have a nice day/evening.
Oh gosh! I have heard of them hibernating in homes.. I’m sure that is not fun at all!
Awe thank you 😊 yes, I agree.. Steem is not just a great community but also a huge source of amazing information.
Thanks so much for your comment, have a great day
Reminds me of this place in Oradea, Romania: Ladybug Hostel. Lovely place, they have ladybugs everywhere :)
Haha! I need to step up my lady bug game clearly..
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
@c-squared runs a community witness. Please consider using one of your witness votes on us here
Please join the community and become a photomag curator in the @c-squared discord server and vote for the @c-squared witness here .
We have a major ladybug invasion every year around October. Not so bad this year, I think they drowned in the rain. But this was the worst year, 2009:
They get inside through cracks and there's piles of them in the corners of the ceiling. These are the Asian ones and they bite. If you disturb one, they stink. Smush one, they stain.
I like ladybugs, but not these...
Ohhh yeah.. the Asian ones are quite invasive and a pain! Gosh that sounds like an absolute pain.. and something that would probably make me a bit anti all lady bugs. Ugh.
Hi @llfarms!
Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 5.656 which ranks you at #472 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has not changed in the last three days.
In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 253 contributions, your post is ranked at #13.
Evaluation of your UA score:
Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server