Monday, June 15, 2009

Be on the lookout

Keep an eye out for butterfly eggs on Fennel, Queen Anne's Lace and Spicebush. Also if you notice any black and red flat bugs about 1/2" or less, these are ladybug larvae. When they are finished eating, on their favorite, Tansy, you can literally watch them change into ladybugs, right on the leaf!!! You can just pick a leaf with a larva on it and bring it inside to watch the process. Have fun!!!

To find out more about these fascinating bugs, check out this site:



http://www.geocities.com/sseagraves/ladybugfacts.htm

2 comments:

Michelle Clay said...

I never did get a blog post together on it, but the spicebush chrysalis you gave me finally hatched. I had almost given up on it, because it had developed an ugly dark blotch. I also found more spicebushes around the yard.

Cheers!

marna said...

Keep an eye on the bushes for signs of caterpillars. You'll see the end of a leaf folded over - They start out real tiny. I have found that if I leave them on the bushes they can often get eaten by other creatures, so I usually take them in to give them a better chance of reaching full potential.
I don't know if you know that their branches, when broken give off a terrific aroma - they are used, dried in sachet. The seeds are ground up for allspice!