Gosh, I am sure that at some point in the past several months I had another post by the same title. Well, such is life on a farm at the edge of the woods.
The latest intruder is Coccinella septempunctata, or the common Ladybug.
Each Autumn, around the time of the first hard frost we have a day where thousands (maybe millions) of these insects leave the surrounding woods and converge on our homes and barns.
For a few days they are a total nuisance...landing on every available surface (including hair, face, clothes, etc). They even drive the animals a little crazy. Our entire barn was literally polka-dot this afternoon....little red crawling polka-dots!
"Ladybug, ladybug fly away home,
Your house is on fire, your children are gone....." (what a horrid nursery rhyme)
Northern European folklore says that if a ladybug lands on you your wish will be granted. In other areas of Europe, folklore says that you will be married within the year. Ok....."I wish that the ladybugs would go back to the woods!" There! We shall see if that wish is granted.
Oh, and by the way.....the amount of spots that a lady bug has has nothing to do with its age....just in case you were wondering.
Comments
Smiles,
Lisa
I see your daughter has a blog now..I'll have to pop over there to check it out. :0)
It's a beautiful day here and Thomas is about 4 hours from home. YAY!
Hugs, Steph