My parents brought “Lady Bug Land” for Maddy, Owen, and Cora late last spring when they came for a visit. It took us a while to get started, but once we did, we found it to be a really interesting little kit.
It came empty, and we had to send away for the ladybug larvae. We only had to wait about two or three weeks, but then the excitement began:
- Ladybug Land: We filled out the form, and we sent away for the ladybug larvae; it might have cost 5 or 6 bucks.
We waited and waited, and finally our babies arrived!
Here are our teeny-tiny ladybug eggs and larvae. . .
We put a few drops of water on the feeding pad, andwe watched them grow.
Within a week or so, they started attaching themselves to the side of the globe.
Maddy and Owen loved to look at the instruction sheet to try to figure out what stage they were in. These guys are now pupas.
Our babies are now toddlers!
And here are the adult ladybugs!! We set them free and watched them fly away.
Welcome to Maryland, little guys!
What a great way of bringing a little science learning into our every day. I think we’ll order more ladybug eggs in the fall; with Golden and Guinea, we’ll have a full house!
Have you read my post today? So funny, we have caterpillars! Our larvae just came on Saturday so we are looking forward to watching them change. Maybe we will try ladybugs next!
My boys would love this. Me? Not a bug fan. But maybe…
are there ways to do this without buying the plastic house (which inevitably in my world would sit around my house forever and then either end up in the trash or at goodwill.)? What do you think we'd need?
I don't know if I've ever commented on your blog site before, but I've followed you for awhile and I have gotten some great ideas from you.
I have some awards for you on my blog. The link is:
http://turningordinaryintoextraordinary.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-firstand-second-award.html
just sent off our coupon today!
We've done this twice, and it was just as much fun the 2nd time! We did worms, praying mantises and snails this summer, and the mantises were amazing! My son is a big fan of all creepy-crawlies. He even has a pet hissing cockroach!
emma-you could do this in a plastic deli container easily, just add a sponge for drinking and poke a few holes for ventilation.
wow! Christy–I did read it today (shhhh! I'm on vacation this week–not up on my normal blog reading–enjoying the beach instead!).
Sheena–Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Emma–I totally agree with Keesler Chaos–anything with air holes would work. Maybe even cut a hole out of an old tupperware container then glue a piece of screen or cloth? I agree–if I didn't buy the set, I would have used that or our old bug catcher.
Thanks all, for reading!
I think we will have to put that on our Christmas/birthday lists!