Golden Ladybug
I was walking on the sidewalk outside the garage door and something real bright and shiny was in the corner of my eye. I bent down to see if maybe I had lost an earring where I had been working the day before.Not and earring but a gold ladybug. I usually have my camera in my pocket but not this time...the time I really needed it. By the time I broke my neck to get up stairs and back down and outside, you guessed it, the lady bug was gone.Tonight when we drove up in the driveway, Ms. Renee met us and told me that my ladybug was on her sweet potato vine. I had my camera in my pocket...and this is what I got...
So I thought I would do a little Google research to see what this rare find is. Here is what I found...'You found a "golden tortoise beetle," not a ladybug. Tortoise beetles are leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae, and most species feed on plants in the morning glory family. The larvae feed on the underside of the leaf. They are oval, and hide under an "umbrella" of their own, dried, feces attached to tail-like prongs that arch over the insect's back. Obviously, the adults are much more beautiful. So there you have it. By this time tomorrow the golden wonder will be no more. She will not get my sweet potato vines. Sorry, Ms. Renee, but Marilyn has got to go!
So I thought I would do a little Google research to see what this rare find is. Here is what I found...'You found a "golden tortoise beetle," not a ladybug. Tortoise beetles are leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae, and most species feed on plants in the morning glory family. The larvae feed on the underside of the leaf. They are oval, and hide under an "umbrella" of their own, dried, feces attached to tail-like prongs that arch over the insect's back. Obviously, the adults are much more beautiful. So there you have it. By this time tomorrow the golden wonder will be no more. She will not get my sweet potato vines. Sorry, Ms. Renee, but Marilyn has got to go!
Comments
Teresa