Monday, June 3, 2013

Ladies in waiting

A little over two weeks ago, I found a cluster of bright yellow eggs underneath a linden (Tilia sp.) leaf.

A cluster of lady beetle eggs on the underside of a linden leaf.
Although I did not need to wait for the eggs to hatch to know what was inside -- developing lady beetle larvae -- I hoped to see the larvae before they dispersed.  Therefore, I made a mental note of where the leaf was and occasionally checked on the eggs.  Finally, after two weeks, there was a change.

The lady beetles shortly after hatching.
The lady beetle larvae had emerged from their eggs.  Soon, they would spread out in search of food.  Checking the surrounding leaves, I saw that the lady beetle larvae would not have to go far to find a plentiful supply of aphids.  However, they would have competitors, as more batches of lady beetle larvae were hatching nearby.

A linden aphid (Eucallipterus tiliae) on a nearby leaf.

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