Lady bugs

A couple of weeks ago, I was washing some swiss chard from the CSA farm when I noticed a couple of little brownish red and black globs stuck onto a leaf. Ladybug larvae! So I set the leaf aside in the kitchen window and hoped that the trauma of harvesting and a day or two in the fridge's crisper drawer hadn't killed off the ladybugs-in-waiting.

A few days ago, I noticed something wriggling as I was washing the dishes. One of the larvae was hatching! Unfortunately, its wing was stuck in the casing and it was valiantly trying to work it loose, tugging and walking backwards, walking in arcs around the casing. We all watched it for a few minutes, not knowing whether we should interfere, then Steve went upstairs to get some tweezers. By this time, I was feeling anxious and (ridiculously) guilty, wishing that I'd tried to help it out as soon as I'd noticed it, since it seemed obvious that its wing was damaged. I went outside to collect aphids while Steve worked to get it free, finally dropping some water on the casing, which softened it up enough for the ladybug to get its crumpled wing free.

So now we have Lucky, in a beetle jar, who gets fresh rose leaves loaded with aphids, and I'm making a conscious effort to change my perspective on this and other of life's little dramas. Instead of feeling distressed and vaguely guilty that the ladybug didn't come out perfect, I could have been simply amazed by this miracle of nature and our luck in witnessing it, and feel happy that we could help it survive. I wish I had that setpoint naturally, but I do think it's possible to shift one's automatic interpretations more positively over time.

(And for the record, the second ladybug hatched out perfectly two days later, was released to a rosebush in the front yard, where it still resides, three days later! It knows a meal ticket when it lands on one, I guess!)

Oh, and we can't post pics because our good digital camera is broken and the old one doesn't do macro shots!