Adventures with ladybugs

Photos and text by Sarah Phelan

I love watching lady bugs climb up and down the lush jungle of wild fennel along the salt marshes on Alameda Island.

Sometimes, I get the sense that the lady bugs are trying to avoid me.

Other times, I get the feeling they are challenging me to fight.

I think it's the way they wave their legs and mandibles that makes me feel that way.

Either way, I'm thankful that I'm not an aphid, which is the lady bug's favorite food.

The lady bug dance reminds me that the fennel is about to flower.

Already, it's attracting swallowtail butterflies. They lay eggs on its leafy fronds. Soon the fennel's mustard-yellow blossoms will attract the bees. They pollinate the fennel, providing seeds for the birds who fly through in winter. And another year will have turned full circle.