Ladybugs and Roly Polies

My girls love bugs. Let me say that again….they love bugs. It’s not unusual to find Lauren, especially, sequestered away in the side yard with a pallet of grass rolled back digging around for some creepy-crawly. I must admit that I am not a fan of certain insects or arachnids. I do like ladybugs, however, and fortunately that is the girls’ current bug of choice these days. We have a spindly little bush out front that’s covered with yellow flowers. It’s always been a good source of ladybugs and thus requires a visit each morning for our daily ladybug fix. In fact, Lauren will not get into the car before any trip unless she’s had the opportunity to check out the “ladybug bush”. The other day while searching for the cute little beetle, however, the girls unexpectedly received a lesson on the birds and the bees. We came across two ladybugs or should I say, a ladybug and gentlemen-bug having their way with each other. I told the girls the bugs were married and getting ready to have babies. Anna later told her daddy that we had seen a “pregnick” ladybug out front. Anyway, several days later the majority of the ladybugs disappeared only to be replaced by what we began to refer to as “spider-thingys”...yes, that is the technical term. I naively cautioned the girls to stay away from them after I saw one voraciously attack an ant and devour it. Then, miraculously, we happened to notice that one of those strange “spider-thingys” had attached itself to a leaf and was beginning to look more and more like a ladybug. After a quick Google search, we were amazed to find that what we had been referring to by the extremely scientific term of “spider-thingy” was in fact ladybug larvae. Who knew? So, everyday we make a trip out the front door and examine our little yellow bush to see what wonders we may find as the circle of life unfolds in our very own front yard.