And that someone would be me. First, the title photo is not, of course, of a ladybug – but it shows how beetle-y bugs started showing up in my environment as I began to plan the Beetlemania series. I'll call it the Capilano Beetle – it's a foot-long metal sculpture that shared the picnic area with me at Capilano Suspension Bridge in September. I don't think we want to inquire about its own picnic menu (…something to do with deforestation…).
Second – and this requires a little math – if a wannabe artist plans to do two paintings a month and is already behind schedule at mid-month, is it likely she'll complete a second painting in another month of 30 days (the second in a row)? No explanation required – the answer is "No."
So this month-end post is dedicated to a Beetle Backgrounder – or as they call it these days, an "Explainer." Ready for some fun facts and digressions? Here we go.
Fact #1: Ladybugs/beetles, all the Coccinellidae, can be found all over the world.
Here's one in my own Vancouver yard:
And here are two glorious denizens of a lovingly tended garden some miles west of Budapest.
Fact #2: When it comes to Ladybug Love, it's best to focus on the positives.
I feel the same about my ladybug fixation as I do about horoscopes. I'll believe all the good stuff and ignore the dubious. Horoscope example: Geminis (like me) are youthful, creative, quick-witted. (Negatives to ignore: They are lying thieves.) Ladybug example: Ladybugs are treasures to entice to your garden. (Negatives to ignore: Some of them bite, and some invade your house in the winter).
Because my readers can be trusted to keep secrets, here's a preview of the "Beneficial Insect Habitat" that I'm giving my next-door neighbours for Xmas. It's beautiful in itself, isn't it? I'm soooooo excited.
Actually, my camera lens went a bit cross-eyed with all the circles and indentations.
Fact #3: Ladybugs inspire artists, as well as small children and their grandmothers.
This shows how ladybugs and other insects have enthralled UK ceramic artist Anna Collette Hunt. For more of her inspired insect jewelery, click here.
And I'll leave to your imagination – because just too precious for the airwaves – the image of an angelic 5-year-old, glowing with happiness in her Halloween ladybug cape and antennae. She's about four times that age now, but every bit as precious. And that's a fact – direct testimony from her Gramma.
Fact #4: You can have a lot of fun with entomological etymology.
Hit that link and you'll see an insect that camouflages itself as a leaf! And while it's fun to put those two words in the same sentence, I should really refer to taxonomy – as the classification of things into groups and sub-categories – in this case, scientific nomenclature.
Whew! Well, I love words, but I'll be brief. While these words themselves – entomology, etymology, taxonomy – have Greek roots, the beetle names have Latin as their base. For example, the Seven Spot Ladybird is Coccinella septempunctata. The 22-spotted Ladybug is Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata.
Get the point? Think punctuation. "Punct" is even the word for the grammatical period (or full stop) in German.
I even found an example in anatomy, though I don't think you'll see many of these "puncta" in works of portrait art.
Fact #5: Insects have feelings.
With thanks to our European correspondent, I'll note a recent BBC article, "Why insects are more sensitive than they seem." It's a fascinating long read with remarkable close-up photos and research findings like these:
"In fact, there's mounting evidence that insects can experience a remarkable range of feelings. They can be literally buzzing with delight at pleasant surprises, or sink into depression when bad things happen that are out of their control. They can be optimistic, cynical, or frightened, and respond to pain just like any mammal would. And though no one has yet identified a nostalgic mosquito, mortified ant, or sardonic cockroach, the apparent complexity of their feelings is growing every year."
Can you see this one's smile?
Fact #6: The collective noun for a group of ladybugs is "a loveliness."
Can this be true?!? I'm inclined to accept it because my source is an unknown writer on the Gulf Islands, and in my experience, Islanders are pretty attuned to nature's loveliness.
Now how about this group as they beetle along:
Oh! What?! How did they slip in here? You might have guessed they're from my favourite boutique bakery-café in Upper Westside Manhattan where I regularly view the plat du jour.
I think this means that this edition of the Beetle Chronicles has gone on long enough. So sit back and imagine a tasty delicacy in all its loveliness, along with your own beverage of choice….and you're bound to see beetles everywhere. I can't really explain it.
