Nature's tiny surprises

I poked my lens into one of the blooming yuccas and learned all sorts of new things,

with the assistance of Professor Google, of course.

At first I thought these ladybugs must have faded from the desert sun.

Wrong. Apparently, when the adult ladybug emerges from the pupa stage,

it's rather pale, then turns bright red as it gets older.

So the little red patches on this teenaged ladybug are not acne –
she's simply aging.
Click on the photo to enlarge.

I'd always heard that ladybugs were good for gardens because they eat aphids.

I guess these must be aphids.