Ladybird pupa

Helen recently mentioned that she had dug up some moth pupae which had wriggled away to try to find shelter again. At the time I had been surprised since I tend to think of the pupal stage as a static one with the creature inside broken down to a sort of soup from which it reassembles itself as the adult insect. It was only with hindsight that I recalled that the pupal stage of some ladybirds are supposed to raise themselves up in a threatening defensive posture when touched. So off I went today to try it out – and it worked.