This is what is left of a segment of apple put out for the wasps: they don't simply eat inside the skin – no, they must 'chew' it up and eat the pulp and 'spit out' the skin. Some day I will take the time to sit and watch the process. They have been devouring the apples – and – to my surprise, turning away from the pieces of salmon put to the side for them at the sushi lunch. Before the cooler weather came they would investigate the tuna but if salmon was available – that was their choice. Perhaps the penchant for apples now has to do with needing 'sugar' more than protein.
I don't have a picture of the ladybugs but here is what happened. Today was an all-day-away from home and I returned in the late afternoon to find two ladybugs sitting on the rock in the middle of the birdbath. In the shade. Perhaps they were too chilly to fly away. I put my hand on the rock and they climbed onto my fingers.
Both wandered around and one soon took flight and I watched it disappear upward and away. Their translucent wings echoing the wind under the held-aloft wing covers makes watching them fly a riveting experience. The other ladybug was more sluggish and since I was chilly and wanted supper I put my finger near the leaf of the sarcococca plant and hoped ladybug would climb on it. Nope. So I waited while it ambled around some more. Then it took flight. And I could watch it fly to a nearby oak tree and land on a crisp leaf golden in the sun.