Saturday 28 April 2012

Steelblue Ladybird

Picking up the hundreds (not an exaggeration for a change - I’ve been told a million times that I exaggerate too much) of fejoas from the two trees in the garden in Mahia I came upon this little Steelblue Ladybird/Ladybug (Halmus chalybeus).  It’s about 4mm long and very shiny which made photographing it quite a challenge.



14 comments:

  1. I've never seen anything like it! Ours here come in a variety of colours, all of them with black dots, but none looks anything like this one.

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    1. I've seen them here before but this is the first decent photo I've managed.

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  2. Hello Graham:
    What an astonishing looking insect. This Ladybird looks as if it has its own metal protection. Wonderful picture!

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    1. Yes it's interesting when you see the macro photo. I couldn't see that with the naked eye.

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  3. My immediate reaction was to tell you it was a member of the chrysolina family and not a ladybird. I would have been wrong, of course, as you had obviously identified it quite correctly. I didn't know that members of the ladybird family came looking like this. It's magnificent.

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    1. Thanks CJ. I was rather pleased I have to admit. You see what spending so much time with you has done.

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  4. I was thinking it to be a beetle of some sort, not a ladybird...but what do I know other than it's color is magnificent! To think that they're created with such brilliance, naturally...unlike the car paint that is man made.

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    1. Well you are correct Heather in that Ladybirds are beetles.

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  5. Ah, I have tried and tried to photograph these. Fabulous shots!

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  6. It looks like a colorful paper weight or a door knob. cool shot!!

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  7. Wow, for something that small I must say it's a really good shot and it must be a really good camera too!

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  8. I didn't know they existed!
    Our fejoa is flowering right now, we grafted on to it last year so we might get some fruit this year.

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  9. Thanks all. I did have rather a lucky day with that one.

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