Ladybug Love

Spotted amongst the (usually) peaceful branches of one of my weeping birches were these two lovebugs:

I've  never given much thought to insect reproduction (aside from the insanely difficult zoology class I took in college- but that's a whole separate discussion), until I saw this pair.  Suddenly I found myself coming up with all kinds of elementary-aged questions that I didn't know the answers to.  I was intrigued to say the least.  My oldest daughter was delighted to see the bugs and was even more thrilled when I found a leaf nearby with eggs on it.  I did a quick google image search to confirm I was indeed looking at ladybug eggs and not something else I should rid my tree of immediately.

This is great news for my yard because the aphids have arrived like I've never seen before (although this is my first full Spring/Summer in the new house).  I made sure to leave everything as undisturbed as possible- so pruning some of the low hanging branches on that tree is going to have to wait.  I have babies to hatch!