Minnie, thanks for asking....there is news.
As in my previous post about our pet Lady Bug, the little sweetie continued her usual routine of greeting us nearly every morning on the windowsill above the sink. She came to the drop of water we provided and the would settle down with a
breakfast of banana. Every couple of days, she would go into hiding for 24 to 36 hours or so then reappear and pick up the routine for several days.

Several days before Christmas, she was joined on the window sill by a friend. A little smaller than our sweetie, and a little brighter in color. At first the newcomer was a little skittish, running off to higher places on the window frame when we moved our hand toward the sill to supply food and water. After a few days, fear was lost in favor of water and food, but the two of them pretty much avoided each other. We kept their dining areas on opposite sides of the sill, but they would be found on each others spot now and then. Both would disappear for a day or so, only to reappear apparently when in need.

I suspected that the little newcomer was not a Lady Bug, but in fact, a Man Bug. I knew that in nature, the male is often smaller and more brightly colored than the female.
My suspicions were correct. Last Thursday while cleaning up the dinner dishes, I witnessed my little girl bug being "assulted" by this litle thug as she was runnng across the sill in front of me. He was clinging tightly to her backside. Actually, she seemed to be enjoying it. I could almost see her giggling along with his wiggling as she dragged him along. After about 30 seconds, he released her and just like a man, flew up onto the ceiling fan, leaving her looking stunned and abandoned. The next morning neither of them came for breakfast. We haven't seen either of them since. I suppose she is off preparing a nursery, and he is off looking for another innocent lady to seduce.

I am wondering if I should go out and buy some aphid laden plants to feed her brood. I would think that I shouldn't start them off on bananas.

What a delightful story! Thank you

This is so cute, Gazania!

After reading your first post about your pet Lady Bug, I offered a tiny dab of yogurt to the Lady Bug that had been hanging around on my kitchen window sill. Sure enough, she at it right up!

Thanks (I think) for enlarging my menagerie. :-)

Very cute story! I hope the new little 'family' to come will prosper!

Romance is in the air!!! What a happy little thing and you give her such care. Thanks for the update

Cute story!

I don't share your affection for the little buggers - we have the stinky Asian Lady Beetles by the thousands here, but I do enjoy the story of your couple. Somehow, I have to think they are the cute kind of story book Ladybug - not the smelly mess that we have :)

Would love a photo! How long do lady bugs live, do you think? And I agree with iowagirl: we have nasty, biting ladybugs here so I don't view them with much affection.

That is adorable, Gazania! I'm going to look for a lady bug to kidnap next autumn! All I have this year is stink bugs and my regular spider friends.

The lady bug is now the state bug for ND> A classroom got together a few years ago, wrote letters, drew pictures, and contacted officials and we actually voted for this little bug. Not sure what is going on now but guess after these freezing days next spring we will see more.

HAHAHA, I love it! You should write a children's book about your lady bug, leaving the bug-lovin' part out of course, LOL.

When we lived in California, when I was a kid one of my friends, who I still am in contact with had these huge bushes all around the parameter of her house. In those bushes were tons of lady bugs some of them were black with white spots and some white with black spots. I have never seen them since anywhere. Now, I'm going to go google them because I've never heard anyone mention or write about different colored (or non-red) ladybugs.

Loved the story. Made me LOL.

That is a delightful account of the romance of the lady bugs! I have several that live in the greenhouse and eat mealy bugs, but none are pets.

I have always loved ladybugs and don't see them here often. Once I saw a bunch on the window of the ski resort and brought them all to my house in a paper cup. This was winter and I put them with my plants but never saw them again. I should have fed them. I do have pet spiders though. They live in my pantry. I don't feed them, they eat little moths that appear all the time. Once I brought a praying mantis with me when we moved to a new house. Brought the bush he liked to sit on as well.

After posting the latest on my ladybug this morning, our manbug came out of hiding. At least I think it is him. He is pacing back and forth at the very top of the window frame above the sink. I can't get a really good look at it. Hmmmmmnnnnn....pacing....you don't suppose he is about to become a father. I don't know what the gestation period of a ladybug would be, but I have an idea that it will be a multiple birth. A lot of mouths to feed.

Below is a site where you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about ladybugs.

Here is a link that might be useful: More about miss bug

LOL!!!! Get a bunch of little, tiny cigars!!!!!

The page I linked says 4-7 weeks and luckily they only give birth to 1-2, Gazania. The larvae are really yucky compared to such an adorable pair of parents! Make sure you get baby pictures! Should we plan a shower?

Here is a link that might be useful: Ladybugs!

Wow, that seems to be a long time in gestation for such a little bug, and only one or possibly twins. I would have expected to find under a leaf perhaps dozens of eggs, like butterflies. I have seen the larve often in the summer ourside. No they aren't pretty. Thanks lynn!

I have lots of lady bugs......in our lemon tree. The babies are not at all like the parents......but the larva love eating aphids and all sorts of bugs before turning in the familiar red spotted insects.

You can buy a ladybug raising kit...available on the internet. My granddaughter raised butterflies, ladybugs and praying mantises. The life cycle is really interesting.

Helene

Blubird, a few years ago a friend of mine bought a few praying mantis egg cases. She thought she had put them in the refrigerator for storage until she could lay the cases in the garden so they would hatch but had dropped or forgotten one. In a few weeks she had hundreds of baby maintids and no way to save them all in our cold weather, so she managed to gather some and get them to a local nursery who released them in their greenhouse. But she had a few in the house that she got thru to spring time.

In the Valentine section in WM today there were a lot of lady bug decor items

Lynn, how I would love to have a pet praying mantis! However, my lady bugs would probably become victims of that preying mantis. My girls were always bringing them into the house when they were little. I can't remember the last time I saw one, never here at our present home of 13 years, and I spend hours daily in my yard with my flowers during summer. Another one of those benefical bugs that insecticides are eliminating. We humans have to change our ways.