Amazing Ladybug – She’s blowing a kiss! – Photo: L. Weikel

Ladybugs and Katydids

The weather over the past several days has been achingly lovely. I’m probably yearning to soak up every drop of warm sunshine and immerse myself in the sound of fallen leaves shushing and crunching underfoot because I’m all too aware of how quickly this idyllic time will end. At the same time, much to my surprise and delight, ladybugs and katydids have joined me as companions and visitors.

I did a shallow dive into ladybug habits and learned that they ‘congregate’ in the fall to hibernate together. Swarming in the transitional month of November seems a little late to me, like they could easily get killed in a cold snap.

Anyway, it seems as if a bunch recently decided to ‘fly through’ our area (if they even do that), and have decided to hang out on our property for a few days – especially on our porch. Maybe they’re scoping things out for a good place to hibernate. Most of the ladybugs visiting in the past few days have alighted upon me or my clothing, often running up my arm or hanging out on my hand, or buzzed amazingly quickly across the porch to land on one of my plants. They’re fast flyers!

Unique Markings

All the ladybugs I’ve seen over the past several days have been the ‘usual’ kind – red with black spots. So I was super excited to make the acquaintance of this amazing creature. I’ve never seen a ladybug with these markings, especially the way the two small black spots and one oddly shaped red spot give the appearance of a lady’s face with pursed lips, as if to give a kiss.

It makes me wonder: where in the world would this be effective camouflage?! But those odd markings are only the start. The rest of her shell was covered with a wonderful pattern of 14 hash tags around the outside of what appears to be a yellow shield. The three wavy lines in the center of her shield are intriguing as well.

She’s utterly lovely. And unique.

Checking both Animal Wise* and The Shaman’s Guide to Power Animals* (SGPA), I’m intrigued by the possibility that she might be a protector of some kind, and of course the shield on her back lends a lot of credence to that interpretation. But given all of the messages we seem to be receiving collectively to let old ways, structures, and relationships that no longer serve us die so we can welcome in the change we seek (or that seeks us), including new relationships, I’m intrigued that the intention suggested by the SGPA is: “Help me let go of the past and embrace the future.”

I wouldn’t have associated ladybug with anything other than the rather generic ‘good luck,’ had I not noticed this strikingly unique specimen.

Katydids

The other creature I’ve been noticing over the past few days are the handful of katydids that still manage to “crik-crik-crik” out their (seemingly) throaty call – even though it’s not their voices but rather their legs rubbing together. Once again, just like with the ladybugs, hanging around at this point in the fall season seems particularly risky.

Just last week we had two days of a good frost greeting us in the morning hours. It makes me wonder how the katydids I’ve been hearing during my walks the past few days survived. Did they did far enough under some leaf cover to avoid the worst? Sure seems like the few that are left are a resilient bunch.

About five minutes after I heard a lone katydid scritching out its call, I actually ran into one crossing the road in front of me. What an odd occurrence! Katydids are – at least in my experience – quite elusive. They have big, loud voices, but hide amongst the green leaves, playing the game of throwing their big voices out into the world but keeping everyone guessing where they’re really hanging out.

There’s precious little information out there about katydids – and what little I found didn’t particularly ring true to me. For me, I’m feeling my own perception of their lessons, gifts, and attributes are just below the surface of my consciousness. Indeed, scritch and maybe I’ll discover them for myself.

Weird. I can hear a katydid calling right this moment. It’s nearly 1:00 a.m.

Grateful

The intricate designs of the mystery ladybug and the bold resilience of the katydid(s) feel like precious gifts. They’re bringing reminders that things change and we insist on static continuity in our lives at our peril. Or at least at the peril of utter boredom and disenchantment.

I can’t take my eyes of that ladybug blowing me a kiss. And every single time I hear, “Katy did; katy did,” I smile and feel oh-so-very grateful for the enchanting Beings frequenting my life.

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(T-17)