Ladybirds of Martin Top

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Thu, 03/07/2025 - 00:00

I have never seen honeysuckle so palgued by countless legions of aphids as the one at our chapel. At first, I tried reaching up and squashing them between my fingers, but the effect was minimal. Then I sprayed soapy water upon them, though some stalks were so high and the wind so blustery that few droplets likely reached their intended recipients. Then, the coccinella septempunctata arrived. More commonly called ladybirds in the United Kingdom and ladybugs in the colonies, these red-coated beetles feast upon greenfly and blackfly, preying upon the predators, devouring the devourers. They are a welcome sight in any garden, and aphid numbers seem to have fallen in ours. Furthermore, I have spotted their less-colourful larvae sitting on the leaves, so next year’s aphids will hopefully enjoy a similar fate.

Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, rose form the dead three days after His execution. In so doing, He delivered the death-blow to death itself. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:26 ‘The last enemy that will be destroyed is death’, and in Hebrews 2:14b:

‘through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…’

The Great Devourer is being devoured, the dreadful destroyer is being destroyed, the terrible trickster is outsmarted.

The aphids of Martin Top, which defied my fingers and escaped my spray, are now little better than the poor plant upon which they have been feasting.