13.
FLY AWAY HOME . ..?
(Or Memories of Summer - Ed!)
During the hot, dry month of July 1976 I
happened to notice a black, dirty line across
the top of the net curtains at my kitchen
window. Closer examination showed this to be
caused by a number of ladybirds inside the hem,
so, assuming these had crawled there and died
due to the prolonged heat and lack of moisture,
I decided they would have to remain until after
we returned from holiday.
Consequently it was late August before I
took the curtains down for laundering and was
astonished to find how many ladybirds were
trapped therein. Still assuming them to be
dead I removed the corpses, with difficulty as
their feet stuck in the netting, and dropped
them on to a nearby flowerbed. There were, in
two short lengths of curtain totalling about
12 inches, 247 insects of various sizes, all
red with black spots and mostly seven-spotted.
My next surprise was to find myself, the
curtains and the garden covered with crawling
ladybirds, as they were in fact very much alive,
and probably rather incensed at the rude
awakening.
There was an abundance of these insects
during the summer and also a noticeable absence
of greenfly. Presumably there just wasn't
sufficient food for them all so a kind of
hibernation took place. I found this phenomena
very curious, especially as the window is South
facing so is very hot in sunny weather.
Is it common for coleoptera to behave in
this way and why did they choose such a warm
place? Had I realised sooner that the insects