tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139180752791601793.post527808413873571356..comments2023-05-17T07:37:49.804-04:00Comments on Go West, Old Man: Day 27: The persistence of ladybugsPeter Teeuwissenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09036559818566294926noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139180752791601793.post-58847131553792629382009-10-22T18:23:34.164-04:002009-10-22T18:23:34.164-04:00Just read an article about them in the Effingham n...Just read an article about them in the Effingham newspaper today, because they're particularly pervalent this year in Illinois and Missouri. They eat a soybean aphid, which has been abundant lately. The terms Asian beetle and ladybug are used interchangably. Maybe you guys just have a more aggressive strain up there than we had in Michigan. They give off a smell to ward off birds and other predators.Peter Teeuwissenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036559818566294926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139180752791601793.post-92177992372071262792009-10-22T17:10:57.873-04:002009-10-22T17:10:57.873-04:00Not that I am an expert but I suspect those were n...Not that I am an expert but I suspect those were not ladybugs, but the look alike but nastier Asian Beetle. At least thats what they call them in Minnesota. They swarm in large groups in the fall and do have a bite that I think would never occur to the gentle ladybug. In some building projects in recent years I have found pockets of these little creeps, sometimes in piles of thousands. A new house had stained paint from them and I bet it wasn't spit.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004047650010444801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139180752791601793.post-27199548741418198682009-10-22T16:02:48.688-04:002009-10-22T16:02:48.688-04:00Oh yes, always on the left, facing traffic. It...Oh yes, always on the left, facing traffic. It's mandatory in most places (unless you're hitchhiking). Still, when the shoulder is narrow on a two-lane road with fast-moving traffic, you must know whether the oncoming cars will be able to veer over the line a little as they approach, or whether they must stay right because of oncoming traffic (behind the walker). Hence, frequent looking over the right shoulder. Also, sometimes one car is passing another behind you, causing a car to suddenly rush past from behind in the left lane. One solution would be always to stay as far over on the shoulder as possible, except that some shoulders are so narrow, grassy, rocky, or sloping that they're hard to walk on.Peter Teeuwissenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036559818566294926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139180752791601793.post-18262392861846815172009-10-22T15:28:06.214-04:002009-10-22T15:28:06.214-04:00Reading this in Stockholm today, I'm glad you&...Reading this in Stockholm today, I'm glad you're back on the blog. (I have a long list of things that I consider addictive!) I had been wondering whether you were walking in the same direction as the traffic. In Europe, where people walk on roads more, the basic recommendation is that people walk facing traffic, ( on the left side of the road ) which enables you see the cars coming from a distance without having to look over your shoulder all the time. <br />SAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com