And now for something a little less grotesque...

I know insects and spiders aren't for everyone... my spider with the dragonfly picture will give some people nightmares I'm sure. My apologies.

This is one of my favourite ladybug shots. A friend of mine said she thought this would make an excellent Christmas card. I have hundreds of ladybug shots, especially since this past autumn was so very mild. I was still getting shots of ladybugs out enjoying the sun in November!

This particular ladybug is an Asian multicoloured lady beetle and is easily identified by the "M" shaped marking behind its head (on the pronotum).  

The "M" on this ladybug easily identifies this as the Asian multicoloured lady beetle

Here are some more Juicy Tidbits.....

• The Asian multicoloured lady beetle is a tree-dweller and eats aphids
• Is usally about 8 to 9 mm in length... one of the larger lady beetles
• It is also known as the Southern lady beetle, Halloween lady beetle or the Japanese lady beetle depending on what part of the world you are from
• They come in a variety of colours ranging from yellow to red to orange and rarely even black
• Their spots vary as well -- from 19 to less than 19 to none. The spots themselves can vary too... from well defined to barely visible traces
• The black "M" shaped marking on its pronotum can appear as a thick,solid marking, as a thin marking or as a broken "M"
• They are capable of biting

Links to other lady beetle sites:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/debu/lady/lady-beetles.htm  Lady Beeltes of Ontario website put up by the University of Guelph.   Great pictures and information found here. 

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/M1176.html  University of Minnesota article by Jeffrey Hahn

Resources used

1. Kaufman's "Field Guide to Insects of North America", page 156
2. The two websites listed above... Lady Beetles of Ontario and the University of Minnesota article by Jeffrey Hahn.

Happy Boxing Day everyone... enjoy your day!