This afternoon I planted myself near a flowerbed at the Dallas Arboretum.  My goal was to soak in the moment (a day off from work!), observe the plants and maybe spot something interesting to photograph.

There it was.  A ladybug covered in pollen.  I quickly turned on my camera thinking I had a brief few seconds before it flew away.

I took dozens of photos of the subject and even had the leisurely time to fiddle with different camera settings.  During this process I noticed some definite patterns in the ladybug’s behavior.  It would climb upward on the petals (imagine the petals as walls), then it would slip back down where it would frantically hang upside down—legs moving wildly.  It would flip itself right side up and repeat the process.  I concluded unofficially, that the pollen covered ladybug might be stuck inside the tulip.

I contemplated whether I should intervene.  While weighing the pros and cons, I took a few more photos then inserted a stem inside the tulip for the ladybug to climb out.

The ladybug showed its gratitude by crawling on my hand and arm for a few more photos before flying away.

You can see the pollen being flung off the ladybug in the photo below… as well as my arm hair!

As I pondered my new title… Ladybug Rescuer… Heroine Among Ladybugs… I spotted another ladybug land inside the same tulip.  Keep in mind there are hundreds of tulips at the Dallas Arboretum.

I quickly composed the shot and snapped some photos of this still orange ladybug.

Camera: Big Bertha (Canon EOS 5D Mark II)
Lens: My beloved 100 mm macro lens (Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L macro IS)
Date:  March 14, 2016:  Ladybug Day
Notes:  Take the time to smell the roses and photograph pollen covered ladybugs!