Today, on bugs I saw: it's Spring!
And there's ladybugs, ladybugs, ladybugs! Actually, Asian lady beetles.
They're coming out of their larval state for the Spring! The one on the right is almost there. It still looks a little...larval-y.
Many of them are still in their larval state. It was really difficult to capture the detail on this one under a wildflower stalk, so my mom put a paper towel behind it and that seemed to help.
Lastly...mealybugs. Of the cottony variety. They're killing my petunias. 😠
I need to get some of those lady beetles onto my petunias to eat the mealybugs. I'm sad to say I did kill a bunch of them - I don't like killing bugs, but my petunias aren't doing well. I sprayed a ton of neem oil on the petunias afterward - hopefully that will help.
I also saw some baby mantises that just hatched, but it was way inside a tree's leaves where it would be hard to take a picture of, and also safe from the birds. I can wait!