Description

Insect Icons is a series of nine acrylic paintings featuring undesirable (to humans) species of insects.  Each 8” x 8” canvas is first painted with shimmering layers of two metallic golds and a metallic bronze with brushstrokes adding to the gilded effect.  In the photographs, this ground looks much flatter than it does in person.  Framed in black to 10.25” square.  $250.

Asian Lady Beetle.

The Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), is relatively new to the US, with the first field populations found in Louisiana in 1988.  With few natural predators in the US, the beetles swarm into homes and buildings in September through November seeking out crevices and protected places to spend the winter.  They do not reproduce indoors—those appearing in late winter/early spring are the same individuals that entered the previous fall.  Besides being a nuisance, the beetles emit an acrid oder and can stain surfaces with their yellowish secretions when disturbed.  Infestations can cause allergies in some people, ranging from eye irritation to asthma.

Asian lady beetles are also becoming a concern of the wine industry.  Due to their noxious odor, even small numbers of beetles inadvertently processed along with grapes can twain the flavor of the wine. (Entomology.ca.uky.edu).