Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home!

I’ve been meaning to post this for several days, but other things have come up. However, now is the perfect time as I lay here with little energy to do anything else (thanks Son for giving me your cold!).

Two weeks ago, we had other homeschool teenagers over for an afternoon of Guitar Hero, Pool, Football, & snacks, of course! As the other moms & I sat at the patio table visiting, we noticed lots of these little critters. They were on the table, the side of the house, the window screens, the door trim, everywhere! Since I knew what they were, we had a mini science lesson on the fly…homeschool is great! They look kinda scary with those spiky-things all over them, but they are harmless…to humans, anyway. This, my friends, is the late-stage larva of a ladybug! Those spikes & bright colors send a message to predators that says, “I don’t taste good!” If you’ve ever had to deal much with ladybugs, you know they emit a foul odor if squished & dogs & cats will not eat them (at least mine won’t). I know this because our house was infested with them when we bought it…they even ruined 2 smoke detectors!

Close to the door of the house, I found this little guy on the siding. Notice he is more round like a ladybug. This is the pupa. The larva has encased itself in this hard outer covering, attached itself to the side of my house, & is transforming into a ladybug through metamorphosis. Ladybugs come in many different colors, not just red. This pupa is orange, so the adult will probably be similarly colored. As a matter of fact, yesterday those teens & their moms were here again & a brown ladybug (like the one in the picture below) was crawling on my leg!

One more picture…this one is an adult & a pupa (below). Notice the pupa (left) is not fully formed yet…you can still see part of the larva (in the shadow area).

There are so many opportunities like this to teach your kids about their surroundings, if you just look for them…& when it comes to somethings like ladybugs, you have to look closely!

For more information on the ladybug life cycle, including crafts & coloring pages, click the link! Or for more fun facts about ladybugs, click here.