Lady beetles

We love ladybugs, AKA ladybirds.  Back when Isabelle was a young, she was Isabelle Coccinelle. It rhymes, in French.

Life cycle:

In 2015 I made a dress for Isabelle Coccinelle!

They like the hops vine, since they can find the aphids they prey on.

They cluster. One year (2014), when we had our new front window put in, they didn't caulk it enough. I caught 200 of them over a few days until I found where to fill the void.

I caught a bunch of them who tried to overwinter in the umbrella. 

Isabelle drew this once.

It's that time of year! They have been ubiquitous. They are biting, also. I went out to film them, and one flew off the roof, landed on my cheek, and bit me. 

Lady beetles from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Gramma Camp – Week 32.3

 Last night, Nutmeg decided she had to redecorate her box. She hasn't done that in ages! She chews on the cardboard. Josephine often has a night time visitor, Cinnamon. She told me she'll need to turn over, with Cinnamon snuggled beside her, and she hates to because then he moves!

Grampa went for an early morning walk in town, at 7:00. The bugs are simply awful in the forest.

The girls roused themselves, after Gramma opened their curtains around 8! They eased themselves into the day. Josee was eating breakfast, when there was a knock on the garage door. Grampa was having a nap. It was the man to check and inspect our furnace and A/C. 

Once that was done, I set off to cut the meadow lawn and the front lawn. Long pants and a t-shirt, with my trusty ball cap and deerfly stickies.

Once that was done, I was a bit warm. I stuck my head in the basement door, and yelled, "Last one in!" It worked! I took off my pants, and jumped into the pool in my t-shirt. Soon, I had buddies.

They are good buddies. I got out, in order for them to play their new game, Whack-a-mole! Well, Whack-an-Isabelle!

 

swimming from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We've two medium and one small monarch caterpillar. I'm sure there are more.

The milkweed hosts lots of critters! These little eggs shine copper in the sun.

A little lady beetle on the fountain!

Grampa took the girls down to the store for popsicles. They ended up with ice cream. A nice treat on a hot day. They tried to eat it on the swing bench, but it was too buggy. They came up onto the back deck with us. 

They like their routines. Grampa had taken them to the video store and they watched their regular 3 p.m. video. After that, they did more drawing until I called them up for dinner.

Grampa had gone into town for hamburgers, again. This time they were open.  It was a great day had by all!

Aquarium caterpigglies part II

I am still keeping up my aquarium caterpillars.This year, I've been taking caterpillarst in, pop them into the tank. Putting in a few toilet paper rolls for shelter, as well as a few length of Hops bine in a glass of water for food.



Last year I had a dilemma. I found a caterpillar and the photo and location wasn't enough to ID it. This is what my BAMONA expert said in 2014,

Comments: As far as I know, only two species feed on Hops, the Eastern Comma and the Question Mark. I have reared both, and this does not look like either one. Please, collect it and keep it in a jar until it produces a butterfly. You will be actually doing it a favour: out there in the open it could easily be eaten! If you succeed in rearing it, I can go back to this record and change the ID. For now, all I can say is that it looks more like a Question Mark. Ross 

Fair enough, says I. This is the same species as flummoxed us last year. I never thought to keep it to watch it morph into a butterfly.  I did capture a Mourning Cloak in July!
You may notice that the chrysalis now has a buddy. This is something I thought so funny.

The black one is Hypercompe scribonia Great Leopard Moth, and it has had one Instar. It sat there for a day or two, and has since moved back into the foliage. I had one ID's last year. You can see the shell here! It's not gone into a chrysalis.

In the meantime, I have this one, as well as a lady beetle larvae, and another mystery caterpillar. The Hops bine is a home for many, many critters, including my tree frogs!

 

These caterpillars, hatched into a beautiful bug, but I had a hard time grabbing a photo!

I'll leave you with this lovely lady beetle, and froggy! Everyone loves the Hops bines!

Summer was back yesterday!

That was a glorious day. A gift from the Universe.
Except, I was ready to shut things down: the goldfish pond, empty the rain barrel, the water fountain.

I began by doing a workout, having thrown a load of laundry in. Probably last time I'll hang laundry outdoors. It just been too cold! Hubby was off doing Meals on Wheels. He's doing that twice this week. Bless his big heart!

The lady beetle are merciless. They tell us they are Harmonia axyridis, an invasive species the Americans brought in to kill off aphids in 1988. They are Asian beetles that bite. I was working on my bird feeders, and couldn't sit on the front porch in the sunshine. They kept landing and biting. They are currently seeking warm spots where they will over winter. The sudden warm days brought them out.
We had our front window replaced a couple of years ago. They lady bugs found nook and crannies, which I since filled. I captured about 200 of them. It was Oct. 14th, 2011, when they appeared!

We had a blue jay smuck into the window yesterday. It was so sad. It was a hard hit, instant, a bit of blood. We don't have this happen very often. In fact, this is the first since I began keeping track. We had one die in the April, 2013, I sheltered it in the shed until it passed over.
Birth, life, death. It's all pretty certain. We all want a good death. Most of my clients want to die at home. This is a family decision, as it takes a hard toll on loved ones.
The Supreme Court comes out with a decision on physician-assisted death today.
PM Harper refuses to deal with it. For the very few who would choose it: those with difficult disease trajectories, like ALS - where you drown in your phlegm, unable to cough, perhaps it would be a gift from a society that understands dignity of life and death.

Laundry day!

The last Hibiscus to bloom!

A little baby snake, too fast to catch.

Daisy was trying to catch the blowing leaves.

Daisy was making eye contact with Geraldine,
in the flower pot.
Gerry didn't want to come and play!

Proof: thermometer is over 25!

Bad little biters!

Blue jays dominate the feeder.

Daisy, just hanging out
in the sumac!?