The time I found out orange ladybugs are real!

One evening while lounging outside the house, I followed my furball Aiden as he walked towards the back of the house, admiring how adorable he lazily moved his paws one after the other, with his striped tail up.

I expected him to drop himself on the ground to groom himself on impulse or make use of an old pot with dry earth inside as his bathroom. Neither happened.

Instead, he plopped himself down at a corner he rarely used and I stood there next to him looking around the greenery mostly and the backyard of the neighbor’s house.


My eyes vaguely made out small pops of orange adorning a green tree at the corner. It was the neighbor’s kedondong (Spondias dulcis) tree that had fruits on them.

Back to the orange things that were everywhere on the tree: They turned out to be ladybirds on close inspection! To say I was surprised and amused was an understatement.


I ran into the house to fetch the camera feeling gutsy that I could snap a few photos. Confession: I am known to scream at the sound of the smallest insects buzzing by. So, that was quite reaching. I tried my best though. Instead of spooking the colony of tangerine ladybirds needlessly with my presence, I stood a distant just to observe them while my cat Aiden fell into a lazy evening slumber.


A few spotted bugs flew from one eaten leaf to the next. Those leaves must be quite delicious as the majority of them were completely eaten or half-eaten. For years I've been here, that evening had me seeing the tree in a new light.


There were possibly a hundred of orange ladybirds making the tree their home. In comparison with the red ladybirds I used to seeing, the orange ladybug beetle was pretty large in size.

I dared not to go too close to the bugs because well, one, I wanted to spare the neighbor from hearing me scream like a maniac. Two, I wanted the camera spared from unforeseen catastrophe due to point number one. Three, I wanted the ladybirds to know that I came in peace.

Anyway, some photos came out of the session. The cats were around as sleepy companions.


If you are still awake and reading, here are three pointers to get from this fantastic story of mine:

1. Gems can be found right behind your house, under your nose. Go out. Unplug your eyeballs from the screen.

2. Allow your cat (or some other animal in proximity that isn't about to attack you) to show you where those gems are at. Step out of your brain. Let Mother Nature sniff the good stuff out for you.

3. Watch. Witness. Enjoy.

I hope the pictures show you the beauty of the tangerine beetles resting and eating the leaves.

Some were mating but I was too polite to photograph them (lies of course, as I was afraid to bug them! #LOL) but I got my brother to snap a beautiful pair which he did from his phone that one time. It was pretty epic. Wait. I’ll retrieve it from the phone just for you special readers. Here you go:


You’re most welcome!

What do you think of the ladybugs? Have you seen them in orange before? Share your ladybird stories if you have them and thank you!

To end this entry, here's a quote by my very dead friend, Seneca:

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”