Ladybugs!

The kids went outside in the backyard to play this morning.  Pretty soon after, Josh came running inside yelling, “Mom! I found a ladybug! You have GOT to see this!” So, I put on my shoes thinking I’ll see one random ladybug that will fly away, leaving the kids sad. No! They are EVERYWHERE in our backyard. It was like the ladybug train came to town and stopped in our yard! I had to be careful not to step on them. I wish I could have gotten a decent picture of them, it was crazy. Josh turned to me and said, “Mom, we must have 18 ladybugs or something.” Yeah, 18 is a lot but I think it was more.
We made a make-shift bug jar out of a baby food jar, that I punched a few holes in the lid.  Working together, we caught two ladybugs. Josh immediately remembered a “ladybug playground” that he saw at Hobby Lobby, from when we bought his Venus fly trap (more on that story another time).  He asked if we could buy it. Why not? So we packed up, headed out, and bought the ladybug playground.

According to the back of the package, ladybugs like plump raisins in addition to small bugs (like aphids), and can drink water from a wet paper towel.  Hence, the raisin bits and paper towel in the dome.

Of course, they decided to name the ladybugs.  The orangish one that you see climbing is “Mushroom” and the red one that you can see its belly on the dome is “Crawler.” When we transferred the ladybugs over we noticed some orange dots on one of the sticks in the jar. Josh thought it was ladybug poop, I thought they were eggs. So, I did a little research because honestly it could have been either. I had no idea.  I found this great website that explains in photos the lifecycle of a ladybug.  It helped me explain it to the kids. Turns out those orange things were ladybug eggs. Yes! Score one for mom and deductive reasoning. :) Unfortunately, by the time we figured out they were eggs, they had disappeared. I think one of the ladybugs might have eaten them. :(

We also learned that these black and orange thingies also crawling around our backyard are also ladybugs. Yes, indeed, they are ladybug larvae! These guys can eat nearly 400 aphids in one day! Apparently, just like caterpillars, these guys eat a bunch of food then go into the pupa stage (like a cocoon). Then, just like butterflies, they emerge with wings. As the wings dry the spots on their shell appear. Awesome! You learn something everyday! So of course, Josh wants to catch one of these as well.

Say hello to “Spot.” He’s in the top left hand side on the stick.  Of course, we’ll let all of these guys go later today but  this one is tempting to keep just so we can watch him transform. I think now, I’ll plant some ladybug-attracting plants to keep these guys coming back. Maybe some cosmos in the flowerbeds, some dill to go with my cucumbers, and definitely some cilantro/coriander. Yum! I don’t know which would be happier, me or the ladybugs!

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