I admit it; as a general rule, I don't like insects. I know, I know--it kind of goes against the whole nature studying thing, so as a homeschool mom I try to pretend the critters don't make me do the icky dance. (Just ask my friends & my husband; the icky dance is hilarious to everyone but me!) So when I saw that that Outdoor Hour Challenge #26 was about ladybugs, I was relieved. Ladybugs are cute, and I love what they do to help my garden, so I don't mind studying those!We turned over quite a few leaves in search of a specimen this week, but to no avail. However, we've seen many ladybugs throughout the summer, so we're already very familiar with them, as well as the aphids they eat. Aphids like my roses, but they always seem to cover my iris leaves at some point early every summer, so ladybugs are always welcome guests in my garden!
Not long ago we learned about the life cycle of a ladybug, and although the adult beetles are pretty cute (as far as insects go), I can't say that about the larvae. However, we learned that one larva can eat about 25 aphids each day, and an adult ladybug can eat more than 50! Come on down to my flower gardens, little "ladies"! We also learned that a ladybug's spots fade as it ages, AND we learned that a few ladybugs went up in the space shuttle for an experiment to see whether aphids did better or worse at getting away from their ladybug predators without gravity in the equation. As it turn out, John, Paul, George, and Ringo (so named by the astronauts) were fat and happy in a micro-gravity environment!
How do you like my cute vinyl strawberries tablecloth? It was on clearance last summer for $3! This way we can still be cheerful and cute while not making a big mess in the kitchen. I just love cute and functional! This week, we combined art and nature study; isn't it fun combining subjects?! We finally did one of the great watercolor lessons on Hearts and Trees, and the fun of doing that inspired Kathryn to paint a watercolor ladybug as a nature journal entry. While she painted, I read aloud from The Handbook of Nature Study. (No, I didn't take pictures the whole time!) I think Kathryn's watercolor ladybug came out wonderfully, and I'm having a hard time deciding if it should remain in the journal or go in a nice little spot I have in mind in our little hallway art gallery. {grin}
We also had a bit more excitement in our moth study this week. When Ken went out to weed-eat on Saturday morning, he saw these hummingbird moths on one of our lavender plants. You can really see why they are called clearwing hummingbird moths when they are still like this. Guess this means there will be more tomato-eating tomato hornworms next spring. I'm not so happy about that, but I do enjoy the adult moths. If I see those caterpillars eating our tomato plants, though, I'm still giving them to the birds.
