CUTE AS A BUG

There were a couple pretty little ladybugs visiting my plants today. They make a nice change from all the bumblebees & damselflies I've been posting lately. This one is on a flowering spirea shrub.

People like ladybugs (ladybirds in Europe) because they are cute and harmless to humans, and gardeners love them because they eat plant pests. However, their bright color is a warning to predators that they should eat something else because ladybugs are toxic. Often when threatened, a foul-smelling, staining liquid seeps from their leg joints - the smell is another toxic warning. They are members of the beetle family (arthropods), and they hibernate during the winter months. There are 5,000 different species of ladybugs in the world.