The Wasp and The Ladybug
Today was the first 70 degree day we've had since February (when we oddly had an entire week of 70s). With all of this warm weather the peonies continued to grow, and all of the bugs decided to come out today as well. There were so many wasps on and flying around my peonies today, searching for and finding plenty of sweet nectar to eat off of my peony buds. They were doing the peonies no harm, and as long as they found no threat in me, did me no harm either. Wasps are definitely not my favorite flying insects, especially since I just got stung by one last year that was underneath my deck. However I'm sure they just get a bad rap, and are most likely needed, just like bees, to aid in pollination. So unless they are making nests on my front or back porch, I'm inclined to leave them be.
Peony Nectar, The Ladybug's Afternoon Snack
When I spotted this wasp trying to land on the same peony bud as this bright red ladybug, I couldn't resist taking some photos. "The Wasp and The Ladybug"... It sounds like some sort of fable, like I need to make up an entertaining story about these two. Well, the real story was that this ladybug had already found its afternoon snack, and the wasp came along and tried to take it from the ladybug. The wasp was quite persistent, but the ladybug maintained its ground, and eventually was the victor of this food battle. This bright red ladybug is just too cute. I don't remember if I've ever seen one on one of my peony buds before. Ladybugs are supposed to be good luck. Let's hope that means the peonies will be blooming well this year. With all the cold weather we've had this March (until today), you can probably imagine that I'm getting a little impatient waiting for the peony buds to start opening... Let's hope they bloom soon!
The Ladybug "Cleaning" the Peony Bud
