Posts Tagged: aphids
Lady Beetles: The First Ladies of the Garden Having a Ball
See those red spots on your milkweed seed pods? Lady beetles (aka ladybugs or "garden heroes") are...
A lady beetle feasts on aphids on a milkweed plant, Gomphocarpus physocarpus, also known as balloon-plant milkweed or hairy balls. Note the spiky hairs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Peek-a-boo? Or peek-a-beetle? A lady beetle, resplendent in red, crawls through the spiky hairs of milkweed seed pods. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hurry! A lady beetle snags aphids on a milkweed seed pod, while other aphids try to escape (far right). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home!
Ladybug! Ladybug!Fly away home.Your house is on fireAnd your children are gone. How many...
A lady beetle positions itself on a tropical milkweed leaf, poised for flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All systems go! The lady beetle opens its elytra, revealing its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ready for liftoff? This lady beetle is good to go. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
And we're off! The lady beetle spreads its wings and is off. Photos taken with 105mm lens on Nikon D500; ISO 2000; shutter speed, 1/1000, and f-stop 16. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Lady Beetle and the Syrphid Fly
So, here I am, an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) perched on a rose bush in Vacaville,...
A large syrphid fly, Scaeva pyrastri (as identified by Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture), heads for a lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Touchdown! The large syrphid fly, Scaeva pyrastri, lands next to the lady beetle.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The syrphid fly licks honeydew from the lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the anus of the aphid.
Insect Wedding Photography in a Rose Garden
"I do! I do! I do!" Some of us engage in wedding photography. Not with humans. With insects. All...
Love in the rose garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bridal couple heads for some privacy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Don't let a thorn get in your way. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The view is better over here. I think I see an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Just need a pillow of rose petals for the night. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey. All images taken with a Nikon D800 and a macro lens, 105mm)
The Lady Beetle: An Eating Machine
The lady beetle, aka ladybug, is a veritable eating machine. Have you ever watched a lady beetle...
A lady beetle, aka ladybug, devouring an aphid, while other aphids appear to be "aphids in waiting." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)