Pine Ladybird

It's raining lightly here finally! 

This morning I was happy to find this ladybird on a Ramanas Rose tree in my garden. I found aphids on the tree, so it made sense to me because ladybirds love aphids. Sparrows also love aphids, which I didn't know. Initially, I wondered why sparrows often come to this tree and peck leaves.

I knew this tree in my garden is Ramanas Rose just today (I moved to this flat in last autumn) because it started flowering today. I thought, "Oh! This looks exactly like hamanasu!". Ramanas Rose is called "hamanasu" in Japanese. It sounds very similar, for English "Ramanas" is from Japanese "hamanasu", which means "shore pear". In Japan they typically grow near the shore. Ramanas Rose is the official flower of Hokkaido, where I spent 4.5 years for undergrad. I'm lucky to have this tree in my garden.