Posts Tagged: ladybugs
Of Monarch Eggs, Ladybug Eggs and Oleander Aphids
So you're growing milkweed for the first time--or found some milkweed--and you're trying to figure out how to identify a monarch egg. Monarchs lay...
Monarch eggs are usually one to a leaf, but sometimes Mama Monarch deposits multiple eggs on a single leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Find the oleander aphids! Monarch eggs and oleander aphids both occupying a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An egg and a newly emerged caterpillar sharing a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a monarch egg. This image was taken with a Canon MPE-65mm lens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Will Milkweed Bugs Eat Aphids?
Yes, they will! Milkweed bugs gained the nickname of "seed eaters" for primarily eating the seeds of milkweed. Actually, they are opportunistic and...
Yes, milkweed bugs feed on oleander aphids. This is a large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) with an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Birds, Bats or a Bloom? But No Splat!
Remember that massive green blob that showed up Tuesday night, June 4 on the National Weather Service (NWS) radar in San Diego, and NWS tweeted it...
A lady beetle, aka ladybug, ready to devour aphids, its primary food source. Image taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A lady beetle on the prowl in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Peek-a-boo! A lady beetle peers over a leaf in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A congregation of overwintering lady beetles in California's Coast Range. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)
Hey, I'm Eating as Fast as I Can!
Have you ever seen the larva of a lady beetle (aka ladybug) dining on an aphid? Lights! Camera! Action! So here is this charming little immature...
An immature lady beetle (larvae) chowing down on an oleander aphid. This photo was taken on a milkweed plant in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A well-fed adult lady beetle (aka ladybug) ignores a fat Oleander aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Incredible Aphid-Eating Machines
Just call them the "incredible aphid-eating machines." That would be the lady beetles, commonly known as ladybugs (although they are not bugs;...
Lady beetle larva dining on aphids on milkweed, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A lady beetle, aka ladybug, tracks down more prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)