Ah... lady in waiting!

These little guys are hanging out it the garden! The larvae of the ladybird are aphid eating machines!!

Yeah, the ladybugs are interesting. I wish they were around more...but sometimes with the drier climate here and few neighbors that really garden much around here, they are not around. I have something on the life cycle and stuff.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea...

thank you for the link Linda! I wish they were around more too but it was nice to see a few. They were mating so maybe there will be little larvae coming along!

I remember saying that rhyme when I was a young girl! And mom would tell us that it was good luck to have a ladybug land on us... I wonder if that whole lore came about because gardeners knew they were beneficial and it was a good way to keep children from squishing them!

Those are lady bug larvae? I didn't know but I saw one the other day! YES!

Kinda scary looking aren't they? they really do kinda look like little alligators!

yes! I really need to attract more ladybugs there doesn't seem to be any left anymore

I have been seeing lady bugs everywhere this year! It's so nice to see them but I'm not really sure why, as there is no rhyme or reason to their locations...

ladybug on crimson clover

ladybug on loquat tree

ladybug here

ladybug there

LOL! well this one was a gift but, I've been seeing ladybugs all over the herb garden!!

It's a good year for ladybugs!

Lovely pictures Christine! I hope those ladybugs find their way up here!

Your Crimson Clover is lovely So far I've got one seedling starting to go strong outside in its jug. Hopefully it will do well and I'll be able to save some fresh seed from it!

I'm saving seed this year & steven, you are at the top of my list for sharing seeds of crimson clover! it really is a great cover crop and green manure!

I've got aphids for them to eat! We do have a few ladybugs around, but not enough to control the aphids. The Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetles are what I'm more worried about. I kill the adults, the larva and the eggs...yet, they still keep coming. 3 plants were completely eaten to the ground. Well, at the least the Monarch caterpillars I raised inside are all pupated...now I just wait for the butterflies to emerge!

Thank-you, I shouldn't say this aloud but I think the ones I got in the swap were old So I'm going to put my 1 plant in a pot so it can come indoors for the rabbit to munch on

oh steven, I think I have the same problem with some of the seeds...oh well, just try again I suppose!

hi Linda, I need to grow more milkweed! Yesterday I saw a monarch butterfly on the blackberry blooms, first one this year.

No monarchs here yet, infact the milkweed hasn't even sprouted yet Tulips should be opening soon though!

Christine, I found those Monarch eggs on some Antelope Horns near a road in the area and brought them home. I figured it was better to raise them, because in the wild, so few survive. Every one of those eggs turned into caterpillars and all pupated, forming those pretty green chrysallises. But no Monarch butterflies found my yard on their own this spring, even though I had milkweed plants.

lol Steven, bet you are soooo ready!

Linda, that is so wonderful what you do for the butterflies! I
am sorry to say that I would no know what the eggs should look like!!

I was noticing some tiny black eggs attached to various cattail leaves the other day & I was wondering what kind of eggs they are... I have no idea but they were in groups, probably a hundred eggs per leaf, all lined up in a circle about the size of a dime....

Lots of dragonflies are also starting to emerge! they are vigorous mosquito eaters! And, I think they are very special!

What the eggs of a Monarch look like:
http://www.butterflybarn.org/e...
Since the Queen eggs are very similar, and both use milkweed in Texas, such white eggs could also turn into a Queen caterpillar.

what a great site..I looked at all of the stages, thank you!!

I do see the antelope milkweed growing nearby, along the road edges. I have some swamp milkweed seeds (from chelle) but didn't have enough time to winter sow them this year.... I guess they may not need stratification & I can plant them now?

I laid down Milky Spore 2 yrs. ago on part of the lawn and garden where I plant Callas, which they love. This year and last I've seen only a handful and less than a handful of blooms chewed up. I'd heard very mixed reviews but am glad I tried it. Has anyone here tried it?

Hi Evan,

No I haven't tried that... would love to hear more about it!!!

I notice I didn't mention what it is for, sorry.

JAPANESE BEETLES.

I guess my fingers were lagging behind my head. Milky Spore is a bacteria, although my niece informed me they're not called bacteria anymore, which creates a disease specific to JB. By creating this milky spore which the beetle larvae eat, the infected larvae eventually die and burst, releasing more bacteria into the soil. As I remember it takes a few years to reach maximum effect. I think I also remember Lee Reich mentioning that it's effectiveness is mixed, depending on your soil and climate. Anyway the JAPANESE BEETLES, which were a real menace, are now simply a nuisance.