Wallonia, Belgium, today.
I stumbled upon a plant covered with small bundles of aphids, and sure enough, upon closer inspection, it had a whole aphid farming operation going on, and ladybugs had found it.
The ant tried blocking the way but fell off. Hopefully it’s okay somewhere. The aphids, unfortunately, will not be.
Wonderful shot! It makes me miss our native lady bugs! They’ve all been out competed by asian lady beetles, that are orange instead of red.
That’s a shame… I saw a few asian lady beetles too, but the native ones are thankfully much more numerous. I had no idea they were invasive, though. Good to know.