My Life on this planet.

Today, King Albert abdicated during Belgium Independence day. It was the first time a Belgium King voluntarily abdicated, although poor health forced him. Later that day, King Albert's oldest child Crown Prince Philippe/Filip (name in the two main languages of the country, i.e. French and Dutch) became King Philippe/Filip I, seventh king of the kingdom of Belgium. The King's wife is now Queen Mathilde. They have four children, of which Princess Elisabeth is the eldest. Thus, if Belgium continuous to exist, the next monarch should be a Queen, the first time in Belgium's history that a woman will be Head of the country. The other three children are Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore. King Philippe/Filip's sister Princess Astrid and brother Prince Laurent and their partners were also present. I wish King Philippe/Filip wisdom in his new job so that he can guide the Belgians as they wish to be guided. It will not always be easy.

Ladybirds This year, I noticed quite a number of eaten ladybird pupas ( Fig. 1 ) and wondered why so many didn't make it into adulthood. Other years some pupas were eaten before becoming adults but this year the number seemed to be larger. Fig. 1 : Two ladybird pupas eaten, probably by other ladybirds or other insects, as birds would swallow the whole animal. Then I made a gruesome discovery. One day I noticed a larva preparing itself to become a pupa and thus an adult. I took some pictures ( Fig. 2 ) to be able to follow the process of transition from larva into a pupa to finish as an adult ladybird. Fig. 2: Ladybird preparing itself (I'm no expert so don't know whether he or she) to become a pupa. However, the next day I made an unpleasant discovery, i.e. the pupa was being eaten by another ladybird larva, starting from the tail ( Fig. 3 ). Afterwards, an aunt finished the job and only a little indigestible piece remained ( Fig. 4 ). Fig. 3 : One ladybi...