Yesterday in an attempt to get a few pictures of some milkweed blossoms I stumbled upon a bumblebee having a tasty snack. I got the milkweed pictures, but they only served as a background for that magnificent bumblebee. Today I'm going to bring you a some better pictures of another milkweed plant, and a little surprise.Milkweed has been one of my favorite plants ever since I discovered it as a kid. I only knew about milkweed in its evil pod form though. That's what I liked about it. You can see those sinister looking pods right here if you're interested. If you have never seen them before, take a look. You won't be sorry.
Last year when I had only been blogging for a short time, I was doing a little research on these pod plants, and WiseAcre told me about these blossoms. Because of the nature of my post, he directed me to a picture of his that showed a good closeup of these blossoms. These things actually have fangs. You can see the fangs in the picture below, and maybe a little better in his post.
The blossoms here haven't opened up quite far enough yet to see the fangs as clearly as I'd like. That's okay though. The pictures still show a fascinating stage in the life of a milkweed plant. Every time I see a milkweed plant it looks like something alien to this world.There is something else special about this plant in the pictures. This milkweed plant has a little surprise crawling around through the blossoms. And no, it's not another bumblebee. The bumblebee photos were pretty good, but this little creature is more fun for us humans.
There it is! It's a little ladybug that I found climbing around in the blossoms. It's hidden back there pretty well, but it's clear for all to see in this last picture. These little ladybugs are a favorite of most children, and they're considered to be good luck.Something I'm not sure most of you know about ladybugs though is that they can and do bite sometimes. It doesn't really hurt, but you can indeed feel it. I know this because it happened to me at least three times. These are the one kind of bug that we let crawl on us, and now I found out that they bite.
Don't let this worry you even if I am trying to scare and tease you a little bit. What I said is true, but I think they're mostly very passive. Maybe it's just me that they like to bite. Then again, maybe they're evil monsters just like the milkweed plants that this one seems to like. Hah haha ha hahaha hah!
I didn't know that ladybug bites! The milkweed flower photos are just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLadybug is small and hide itself in between the leaves and flowers, always make it not noticeable.
ReplyDeleteI do not know that ladybug bites, but I know some ladies bite.
beautiful milkweed photos. i did not know ladybug bites either
ReplyDeleteYou're gonna laugh at me, Ratty--I PLANT milkweed in my garden for the monarch butterflies! That is the only plant they lay their eggs on--so if you peek on the underneath of those leaves, you might see a tiny white dot the size of a pinhead--and that is your monarch egg. We raise monarch butterflies each summer, so we watch the butterflies from mom laying her eggs all the way through from caterpillars to chrysalis to butterfly. Next time take a picture of an egg for me, okay??? :)
ReplyDeleteYour reminder brings painful thoughts, yes, those girls do bite! I have not seen milkweek for some time since my patio holds few plants (living in a studio) and I had forgotten how beautiful it was, great post.
ReplyDeleteI learned something new, I didn't know that ladybugs would bite. I rescued one from a spiders web not long ago. Maybe she was too grateful to take a nibble of me.
ReplyDeleteThe milkweed is so beautiful, I love the close up shot. A lot of insects do find it very attractive.
Thanks for another fine post Ratty.
SQ
it is good to feel the happiness in your writing again ratty. the adventures and pictures are, as always, wonderful. you will have to check out my little adventure when i get it done. thanks for all that you do, it is appreciated!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos Ratty!! I still like Ladybugs, even if they bite. I very seldom see one here. I just saw something online recently where there were millions of ladybugs in a certain spot. Or I think it was on the news. Those people never mentioned getting bit..Ha!
ReplyDeleteLittle fangs! I never thought of it that way. But, yes, that blossom shape is distinctive.
ReplyDeleteI like your blog's layout....
ReplyDeleteThat ladybug was a great find hidden in amongst the petals...you captured it anyway!!! I have never had one bite me, but I don't hold them often anyway, to give them a chance!
I asked the insect guy at Iowa State about that lady bug biting...(the entomologist) told me that it was because the little guys had just emerged from their metamorphasis and...that they were thirsty!! So they are trying to find fluid when they chew on us?? Too funny! I also love this Milkweed...such an interesting plant...and now, I'm hunting for Monarch larvae!
ReplyDeleteIcy BC - I didn't know either until I got chomped a few years ago.
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Rainfield - They both bite, but ladies are much more dangerous if they want to be.
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Betchai - Not many people know this. I found out the hard way. It doesn't hurt much.
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Lin - I'm not going to laugh. If I had a garden, I'd plant them too. I'll be watching for monarch eggs now. I hope I find some!
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A.J.Johnson - This is the first year I've noticed the blossoms. I'm glad I learned of them. Those ladybugs must bite more often than I know.
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SquirrelQueen - I don't think they bite most of the time. I was just lucky.
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PJ - Some problems never go away completely, but mine are mostly better. This blog and all of you helped greatly with that. Your redwood adventure looks great. I love those pictures.
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Ginnymo - I still like them too. The reason I mentioned that they bit was because I thought it would be interesting, and it's sometimes fun to tease everybody a little. They don't really bite very hard.
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Sharkbytes - Those little fangs make those plants even more fun for me. :)
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The Retired One - I had no idea it was there at first. Another lucky shot. I like to hold ladybugs, but not as much now.
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WillOaks Studio - Thanks for the great information. I knew there must be a reason. It's just mistaken identity on their part.
I too, plant milkweed just for the monarchs. My front garden has Monarchs in it all the time. We really love watching them. Today while weeding, there was a pair of Monarchs mating on the milkweed. I also noticed the milkweed beetles on a few of the larger stems of my milkweed plants.
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