Today I had the opportunity to take a look inside a Ladybird.
Well under it’s elytra. I am not sure if this animal was in distress or just in disarray but it gave me the opportunity to have a look inside and I have a curious mind.
It may seem unfair to take advantage of the situation but I want to understand the anatomy.
Unfortunately far from satisfying my curiosity the process of peeking into the interior raised more questions than answers and one in particular….
This wing is much too big to fit back inside the wing case. How does it do that?
Whilst I was wrestling with this entomological dilemma and unbeknownst to me, I was being done over by a professional pickpocket.
Deft little noses were going through my valuables.
I did actually beknownst what she was doing but I didn’t notice that my Zippo was missing until much later.
It must somehow fold that wing up to put it away.
In this next picture it appears to be rolling it’s wing but it is rolling it the wrong way, it is the length that it has to reduce.
We are just going to have to watch ladybirds really closely until we can find out the answer. I couldn’t find anything on the internet.
So if anybody knows where I can see pictures of a Ladybird folding it’s wings then do please tell me. Otherwise we are going to have to take the pictures ourselves.
Being robbed in broad daylight makes me look really stupid.
It’s my camera. Just remember that.
🙂
A Tramp in the Woods 
What a great capture in those images of Ladybird wings, Colin.
You continue to inspire me to be more observant of the small details in Nature.
(I can see that I’m not the only person who resorts to the Internet with a profound curiosity. I wonder how I ever managed without Google, but as a child back in the 1950s and 60s, whenever i asked a question, my Mother would tell me to go and look it up in the Encyclopaedia. My parents would take us 3 children to the local public library at least once a week for most of our childhood too).
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Hi and thanks Vicki 🙂 There is a lot of rubbish posted on the internet but there is also the chance to talk to some very clever people. There are opportunities for learning that didn’t even exist when I was young. Just don’t believe everything that you read 🙂 Especially not here. Trolls, faeries, zombies etc. I make some of that stuff up 😀
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This post made me laugh!! 😀
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Thank you Trini 🙂 Fizz makes me laugh every day.
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I wish I had a furry friend like that! 🙂 🙂
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Wow, great photos. I’m constantly amazed by nature’s mechanics. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Incredible images and left with the mystery of how they do it. Fascinating. Thanks.
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Thank You 🙂 I have so often seen Ladybirds with their wings sticking out the back and I had never thought about it before. The wings don’t fit. This has become a mission now. I think that they somehow roll them, it must be a very quick process and yes, fascinating 🙂
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Nice post Colin! 🙂
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Thank you HJ 🙂 I will get back to the birds soon. The things that I am noticing at the moment: The Owls are becoming very vocal at night, I am still sleeping with the windows open and listening to Owls at any time of night. The other thing is the House Sparrows they are about in large numbers now. We have fed them all year and they are here in flocks. when I open my door and disturb them they take of with a racket. Good stuff going on but hard to photograph. 🙂
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Okay, I’m curious too…can’t wait tip you figure this mystery out. Of course I am gonna have to do my own looking, it’s almost time to see them coming in to the house for the winter. Oh, and don’t report Fizz, I think perhaps it’s not really your ball to begin with. 🙂
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Thanks Virginia 🙂 The next comment includes a link to a video that explains everything. As for ownership of the ball, I have had this, “You threw it away, so it is mine now,” argument over and over again with Fizz and will probably continue to do so for some time. It is mine 🙂
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Very cool. It doesn’t seem like the most aerodynamic of insects, it would be like driving with the hard top flipped up. And I love how the feet are flexed during takeoff.
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I don’t know if this will help, but it is interesting.
Lindy
P.S. – I love the last image of your dog – quite a commentary! 😀 Hope you found your Zippo.
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Yes! Thank you so much Lindy 🙂 That is exactly what I wanted to know.
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Isn’t if fun to marvel at the things millions would never notice, or even care about? I had a “Magic Moment” on Sunday when I saw a Migrant Hawker repeatedly gliding. Having spent several hours watching dragonflies this summer it was a first. One specimen would glide for about 8 yards, whilst losing about 2 metres in altitude. I was utterly overjoyed to witness this in fantastic light. Pity I left the 400mm lens at home….
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Thanks Stephen 🙂 I haven’t seen them do that but Dragonflies are absolute masters of flight and they can do anything that they want in the air. I do wonder why they would glide when they have such wings. Not a mating display at this time of year and not the best way to catch prey and the Migrant is a late season hawker so not at the end of it’s life yet. Interesting.
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Here is everything about the wings. 🙂 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_wing
Thank you, always a pleasure to read your wonderful articles!
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Many thanks Inese 🙂 So it is a simple fold. That is a very good article and I can hardly believe that I have never worried about this before. We still need photographs though. 🙂
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I think a video would be very helpful: the folding happens faster than the shutter clicks, I guess. Good luck with capturing! 🙂
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Your posts are always so interesting and Fizz always makes me smile. How does a dog get a name like that?
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Thanks Sarasin 🙂 I am guessing that as a pup she fizzed around a lot. I have never owned little dogs myself but my dad once had a poodle and I remember when we first saw it we were not sure what kind of an animal it was but it whizzed around everywhere and never stood still. 🙂
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Well she just looks like a constant source of fun and such a good little companion for you in your adventures. And she’s cute!
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Maybe those wings collapse like a parachute? Y’know, it’s really soft and smushy and can be packed up in a small pack, if you do it right. I’ve seen other bugs that deal with this as well, and wondered how they do it. This may be one of those things I ask as soon as I get to Heaven (we joke about this in my family, but every one of us has those secret lists, dontcha know).
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Thanks Lora 🙂 mrsbearfoot (Lindy) sent me a link to a slow motion video that shows exactly how they do it, a few comments back.
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I love the questions that always come up while walking in nature. We will never tire of it! Great post! Love that Fizz.
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Is Fizz sticking her tongue out at you? What impertinence. My teenager is hoping to get into an entomology program in college. That may just be the right person to look into this question for you.
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