Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

Ladybird's Children

Ladybird laid many eggs in one day. She put them close together on a rose leaf.

The eggs were tiny and yellow and they stood on one end.

When the baby beetles hatched they did not look like Ladybird.

They had no thin wings to fly with. They had no pretty red wing covers.

Each baby beetle had six legs to run with. When it was hungry it ran to find aphids to eat.

The young beetles were so hungry that they ate aphids for about three weeks.

Then there were not many aphids left on the rose bush.

Mr. Gray was glad when he came to look at the bush. He showed the baby beetles to Don and Nan.

He said, "Ladybird and her children are taking care of this bush.

"Young and grown Ladybirds take care of many bushes and other plants. They eat many kinds of aphids."

When the young beetles were about three weeks old, they took a rest. While they rested, their wings and wing-covers grew on their backs.

Their bodies changed in other ways while they rested. When they woke they looked like Ladybird.

Nan said, "I hope they will stay in our house next winter. Then in the spring I can watch the pretty Ladybirds fly away to a bush."