A bit different from the butterflies in the last few posts, todays image, no 066, is of a ladybird on top of a common spotted orchid. I photographed this image using the same macro technique as the butterflies.
I really like the latin name of this: Coccinella septempunctata. If you split the septempunctata in half you have ‘septem’ meaning seven (which is why september is the 7th month in the roman calendar) and ‘punctata’ just means punctured or spots. Seven spots! Brilliant! This is the same for most ladybirds… 14 spot is quatuordecimpunctata (a mouthful I know!!) and 2 spot being bipunctata.
Seven-spot Ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata. Herefordshire, June, 2010.
Canon 1D mkIV with 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.
Ian Butler Photography 
Wow nice shot.. never knew about the spot numbers.. thanks for the info 🙂
A delightful subject beautifullly composed.
What a beautiful photo. You might like to see my Seven-spots (with details of how to log ones you see this year with the ladybird surveys …) http://carolinegillwildlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/ladybird-alert-4-seven-spotted.html
That’s a lovely picture. Great depth of field, your 100mm f/2.8 lens has done a fine job there. Is that the sun reflected on the wing case of the ladybird?