Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Two-spotted Ladybug

Cardoon reminds me of my favourite thistle, the Nodding or Musk Thistle. This (very tall) one was growing in the gardens at the Calgary Zoo when I visited a few days ago. Lucky for me, a tiny Two-spotted Ladybug was exploring the interesting landscape : ) "The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), also called the artichoke thistle, cardone, cardoni, carduni or cardi, is a thistle-like plant which is member of the Aster family, Asteraceae; (or archaic: Daisy family, Compositae). It is a naturally occurring variant of the same species as the Globe artichoke, and has many cultivated varieties. It is native to the Mediterranean, where it was domesticated in ancient times ...... The cardoon is highly invasive and is able to adapt to dry climates. It has become a major weed in the pampas of Argentina and California; it is also considered a weed in Australia. Cardoon has attracted recent attention as a possible source of biodiesel. The oil, extracted from the seeds of the cardoon, and called artichoke oil, is similar to safflower and sunflower oil in composition and use." From Wikipedia.

They always say that Ladybugs bring you luck - so this one is for good friend, Doug (dougwaylett on Flickr), whom I have known the last few years through botany (wildflowers, also fungi) and, several years ago, birding. He collapsed yesterday and was in the Trauma Unit. Later, he was moved to Intensive Care. I have not yet heard any further update today (it's 10:30 a.m.). Hoping you had a restful, uneventful night, Doug - everyone's thoughts are with you, and with Flo (Doug's wife). Found this tiny Two-spotted Ladybug (Adalia bipunctata) in my house the other day and photographed it on the fluffy centre of a large Protea flower that has been in my kitchen for two or three weeks, waiting to be photographed. Now it has lost all its colour and has dried out, but at least gave me a different kind of image here : ) The Two-spotted Ladybug is smaller than the more common Seven-spotted Ladybug and is one of our native Ladybugs. "Adalia bipunctata, commonly known as the two-spot ladybird, two-spotted ladybug or two-spotted lady beetle, is a carnivorous beetle of the family Coccinellidae that is found throughout the holarctic region. It is very common in western and central Europe and North America. It is used as a biological control agent ..... The most familiar form of the two-spot ladybird beetle is the red one with the two black spots. However, there also exists a black form with red spots on it. In addition, there are intermediate forms, but they occur only rarely in nature." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalia_bipunctata UPDATE ON DOUG: it is with tremendous sadness that I have to let people know that Doug passed away. Apparently, he had just given a talk on Slime Molds in the herbarium at the U of C yesterday and was looking at some lichens, when he had a massive heart attack. Flo, I am so, so sorry.

I was so excited when I saw this tiny Ladybug, as I thought I had found a different species. However, it turned out that this, too, is a Two-spotted Ladybug. Usually, the ones I find have just one large, black spot on each side. Seen during a hike on Keith Logan's land, on June 17th. "The most familiar form of the two-spot ladybird beetle is the red one with the two black spots. However, there also exists a black form with red spots on it. In addition, there are intermediate forms, but they occur only rarely in nature." From Wikipedia.

Yesterday, I was so excited because I thought that maybe I had photographed a new (to me) species of Ladybug, on a botanizing day trip to Keith Logan's, about 2 miles south of Water Valley. Unfortunately, this little guy is still a native Two-spotted Ladybug, despite looking more like a "Four-spotted" one, if there was such a thing. Thanks to Corey Husic at BugGuide website for confirming that this is in fact "just" a Two-spotted Ladybug. Also, according to the book, "Bugs of Alberta", "Two-spotted Ladybugs are amazingly variable. Most have two black spots on a red background, while others have four spots or two red shoulder parches on a black background."

Just didn't feel like any more bending yesterday afternoon, so zoomed in on this more rare kind of Ladybug in someone's garden. These Two-spotted Ladybugs are smaller than the usual Seven-spotted kind.

Noticed that this pair of Ladybugs is a Two-spotted pair. I took a closer photo of another Ladybug on these plants and it was just a regular Seven-spotted Ladybug. They are on a wild plant called Wormwood.