I don't know

I had to go back up and edit the title a bit after I decided to use this photo. Originally this was just going to be a whinge about feeling generally like I never have the answers to the questions I'm asked around here (don't worry -- I get like that some times. There's only so many things you can say "I don't know" to before you start feeling juuust a little bit useless and sorry for yourself), but then I realised that since I actually do know what's in the photograph I'd better get off the pouty chair and admit that occasionally I do know some things.

Like the fact that the (blurry because the autofocus didn't believe it was there) strange-looking thing on the leaf in the photo is a ladybird beetle pupa.

Oh, and there's also a ladybird larva towards the top there.

These particular ladybirds are hanging around on my balcony, which is sort of an unfortunate choice because one of these days I might even get around to cleaning out the planter boxes. It'll happen ladybirds or no ladybirds... although I'll feel badly if they haven't completed their metamorphosis before then.

I'm getting weird in my old age. I never used to feel badly about insects.

I never used to feel anything (except maybe revulsion) about insects, to be honest.




Yep, definitely weird.

Let's end with that then, shall we? I need to get back to my weird job anyway.