photo of ladybugs covering the bark of a tree near the Guadalupe Peak, by John Hunter, Creative Commons Attribution.___________________
At Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet in Guadalupe Mountains National Park I found a huge city of ladybugs. They covered the bark of many bushes and trees and crawled over rocks (as seen in the photos). They were everywhere. It seems odd to me that they would have such a huge concentration since it would seem like food would then be a problem, but there they were.
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photo of ladybugs walking over rocks near the Guadalupe Peak, by John Hunter, Creative Commons Attribution.
view from Guadalupe Peak, by John Hunter, Creative Commons Attribution.
Guadalupe NP is a very dry and arrid environment. What is it about this area that so attracts this particular ladybug population?
It’s hard to believe the red dots in your first picture are ladybugs. I’ve never seen so many ladybugs!
I thought the red thing in the tree is a fruit but as I have read your article I’ve been amazed by how the ladybugs were gathered in that tree. I want to see it for myself..
Ooooppss…. first i thought they are some sort of fruits… but the second picture reveals the truth… amazing
Wow! looks full of small cherries from far away, never seen like this before, how very rare. Nice pictures you there.
Holy smokes! This is amazing. Thanks for sharing this, John!
The ladybugs go there to escape the heat and lack of food at low elevations. They have no problem going for weeks or months without food. They will return to the lowlands as the weather cools and then when it rains there will be more food for them and they will lay their eggs for the next generation. This is common in other parts of the American southwest. I have owned a business that distributes ladybugs for pest control and this is the only way that they are procured is from the wild.
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