DAY 14: The pupa begins to extend and split. Luckily for me I had two pupas developing at the same time which improved the chances of capturing this magical moment! I was lucky with this one. I wasn't so lucky with the other pupa which emerged when I wasn't around. Both ladybirds developed into different types of Harlequins so it was interesting seeing how their colouration and spots emerged.
The split becomes larger as the pale orange shell of the ladybird is seen emerging.
Most of the ladybird has now emerged, it just needs one last push to free-up its back end!
Almost there, just one last push!
At last free! Not the most attractive of positions. Just needs to turn 180 degrees so that we can see his head and not rear end!
Eureka! The ladybird has turned to reveal his handsome yet pale features. These soft pastel shades are typical of newly emerged ladybirds.
At last the ladybird turned almost 360 degrees to finally face the camera. It then left behind the exuvia to investigate its new environment. This is a very dangerous time for a young ladybird as its body is soft and particularly appealing to predators.
In the next post I will show how the ladybird gradually changes colour and gets its spots. We then should hopefully be able to identify it.
