- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's the astronomical moment, according to the Farmer's Almanac, "when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn" and "we have our shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of daylight. Regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice marks the official start of winter."
If you're in the cold, so are the insects.
We captured images of a lady beetle, aka ladybug, covered with rain droplets as it huddled on the silvery gray foliage of our Artemisia, a plant that belongs to the daisy family, Asteracease. Some of the common names among the species in this genus are mugwort, sagewort and wormwood. Bug on a mugwort?
After the winter solstice, the days get longer and the nights get shorter. Is it too soon to think about spring?
If only this insect, in its own bubble of sorts, could talk...
![A lady beetle, aka ladybug, covered with rain droplets on Artemisia in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A lady beetle, aka ladybug, covered with rain droplets on Artemisia in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/77119.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Red ornaments on a Christmas tree?
No, ladybugs (aka ladybird beetles or lady beetles) on Artemisia.
Ladybugs are overwintering on our Artemisia (genus belonging to the daisy family, Asteracease).
When the rains come, the drops bubble up on the plants and the ladybugs alike.
It's Christmas Eve and the ladybugs are Nature's sparkling red ornaments, providing comfort, cheer and color to the holiday season.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
![RED ORNAMENT? No, a ladybug, aka ladybird beetle or lady beetle, on Artemisia, a genus belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) RED ORNAMENT? No, a ladybug, aka ladybird beetle or lady beetle, on Artemisia, a genus belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5784.jpg)
![RAIN-PELTED ladybug on Artemisia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) RAIN-PELTED ladybug on Artemisia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5785.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Our Artemisia, a silvery-leafed shrub bordering our bee friendly garden, looks quite orange and black these days.
It's not for lack of water or some exotic disease. It's the ladybug (aka lady beetle) population.
If you look closely, you'll see eggs, larvae and pupae and the adults. And if you look even more closely, you'll see aphids.
The predator and the prey.
Bon appetit!
![ADULT LADYBUG forages for aphids on a silvery-leafed shrub, Artemisia. A ladybug larva is at the far right. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) ADULT LADYBUG forages for aphids on a silvery-leafed shrub, Artemisia. A ladybug larva is at the far right. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4184.jpg)
![LARVAL STAGE of the ladybug. The ladybug goes through a complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa and adult. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) LARVAL STAGE of the ladybug. The ladybug goes through a complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa and adult. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4186.jpg)
![PUPA of a ladybug on the silvery-leafed shrub, Artemisia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) PUPA of a ladybug on the silvery-leafed shrub, Artemisia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4187.jpg)
![ENCOUNTER--An adult ladybug encounters a pupa, the last stage before becoming an adult. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) ENCOUNTER--An adult ladybug encounters a pupa, the last stage before becoming an adult. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4188.jpg)