Beneficial Beetles

Its cloudy and raining today on my first day off. It was sunny all my working days too. The garden and allotment needed watering though so they dont mind the rain.
I took these photos of Ladybirds at the Allotment last week when it was sunny. I love Ladybirds for their bright red coats with black spots, and white spottted faces. They will happily walk around your hand as you photograph them.
They feed on aphids and I need them in my garden to keep my Roses healthy.
They are beneficial beetles and I have planted French Marigolds to try and entice them into the

garden. The second photo shows a Ladybird on a flowering plant. I do not know what its called. It looks like a trampoline with the Ladybird jumping on the centre of it!
The camera batterys need recharging so I'm blogging old photos. I am usually armed with the camera every day in the garden.
I want to do blog posts about Harlow Carr from last week, and Pats garden...
I enjoy watching for the insects then working out how they fit into the gardens ecosystem. A world within a world.
Their are lots of pollen rich flowers planted in the community garden where both photos were taken. I always encounter Ladybirds up there.
Its a good sign of warmer weather and that Spring is nearly over when they appear.