Spotted Lady Beetles

It was a nice sunny afternoon and these little spotted lady beetles were out in force. According to the bug guide dandelion pollen is an important early spring food source for these beneficial insects. Their normal food is other insects. I must have come across a dispersing group that had overwintered together because in one area it seemed like every third dandelion had a beetle on it.

 In bloom:
dandelions
 foget-me-nots
 violets
 trilliums