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Ladybug Land™ Kit

Fascinating Ladybug Facts!

Some Basic Information
• Her scientific name is Colleomegilla maculata.
• She really isn’t a ladybug, she’s rather a ladybird beetle.
• There are over 600 different kinds of ladybugs.
• She is one of the most common beneficial insects.
• Instead of using pesticides, some farmers use ladybugs to eat the bad bugs in their fields.
• They will eat aphids, mites and small caterpillars.
• Ladybugs can be found from southern Canada to
South America.
• Ladybugs can be white, yellow, pink, orange, red & black.
• Their bright coloring is a way for them to tell birds that
they don’t taste good.
• Some species of ladybugs have no spots at all!


The ladybugs’ Lifecycle
• Ladybugs lay their eggs one week after mating.
• Eggs are laid near aphids so the larvae have food to eat.
• One ladybug can lay 50 eggs in a day, and 1000 in
her lifetime.
• The lifecycle of a ladybug (egg to adult) takes
approximately 2 to 3 weeks.
• She looks like a small alligator in her larval stage.
• After she’s born, her spots take 12 hours to appear.
• Ladybugs go through one generation per year.
• Ladybugs hibernate during the Winter.


Adult Ladybug Facts
• She can eat up to 5,000 aphids in her lifetime.
• She can secrete an odor to warn off predators.
• Ladybugs have two pairs of wings.
• A ladybug uses her hind wings for flying; the front set of wings are hardened to protect her flying wings.
• Ladybugs clean themselves after eating.
• Ladybugs have six legs.
• In the wild, a ladybug can live up to a year.




Dr. Entomology Suggests:

Your Ladybug Land Includes:
• The Ladybug Land observation habitat.
• A certificate for 15 - 20 live ladybug larvae.
• This guide book with fun ladybug facts.
• A magnifying lid for up-close observation.
• A pipette to water your ladybugs.

A fun way to observe the life cycle of the friendly and lovely Ladybird Beetle !

Getting Started
Before mailing the certificate for your live larvae, make sure you are ready to receive them. Please plan for any school breaks, holidays, or extended weekends that may interrupt the project. Write your name and address on the certificate and mail it. Please allow 1 - 3 weeks for delivery. Insect Lore's guarantee is that 5 of the ladybug larvae will develop into perfect adult specimens.
Sorry, but we cannot ship the ladybug larvae to Oregon.

When Your Ladybug larvae Arrive
Your larvae are mailed in an envelope that you will need to open immediately. Inside is a tube containing 15 or more live Pink Spotted ladybug larvae with special diet. The tube contains all of the food needed for the larvae inside to change into adult ladybugs. Remove the magnification cap from the Ladybug Land. Take the pipette and put a few drops of water onto the sponge in the middle of the crater. You?ll want to keep the sponge moist throughout your ladybugs? lifecycle – ladybugs love high humidity – but if you see standing water on the sponge, you?ve added too much!
Open the tube and shake the ladybug larvae and food into your Ladybug Land through the hole in the dome. There’s plenty of food for them, so don’t add any other food source.
If some larvae stay within the tube, give the tube a tap or two with your finger to dislodge them. They’re tough little insects, so the jostling won’t hurt them. Now, replace the magnification cap.

Ladybug Activity: Keep a Metamorphosis Journal
As your ladybugs grow from larvae to adults, you will see many changes. Keep track of your ladybugs’ lifecycle by making daily notes in a scientific journal. You can use a special book to do so, but any paper will do.
To get started: Day 1. What do your larvae look like? How many are there? When first placed in the Ladybug Land, what did they do first? Do they prefer certain areas of the Ladybug Land to other areas? How do they spend their time? Make entries on any other aspects of their lives that you notice.
Be sure to make special notes on the days when your larvae molt, form pupae, and hatch as adult ladybugs!
Find more ladybug activities at www.insectlore.com/activities.
Don?t let your ladybug larvae get too hot, or allow the Ladybug Land to sit in direct sunlight. For instance, you?d never want to leave it on a window sill, outdoors or in a car.

The Ladybug Life Cycle: Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult
Ladybugs, like the Pink Spotted Ladybugs in your Ladybug Land, start life as eggs. Ladybugs lay their eggs on the underside of leaves, in groups of 10 to 15, usually near a food source like aphids or mites. The eggs are yellow or orange, and shaped like a capsule.

When the eggs hatch, the larvae grow quickly and constantly search for food. Your larvae will shed their skins, or molt, several times as they grow. And they’ll grow quickly! They must eat a lot to store energy for the change that they’re about to undergo. Don’t worry, in the Ladybug Land, they have plenty of food.

Soon, your ladybug larvae will attach themselves to the undersides of the Ladybug Land dome to begin the pupal stage of their lives. From here, they’ll spend a few days protected by an outer covering while they change shape within. The pupa may appear to be doing nothing, but many changes are taking place inside! While they’re in this pupal state, make sure that you have some raisins ready for their emergence as adults.

After approximately 5 days, adult ladybugs will come out of the pupae. At first, the adults will appear soft and pale, but after a few hours their exoskeletons will harden and their colors will brighten.

Feeding and Watering Tips
For Your Adult ladybugs
Once your ladybug larvae have undergone their metamorphosis into adult ladybugs, get 1 or 2 raisins. Soak them in water for about 5 minutes. Blot them dry on a paper towel.
Now cut them in half and drop them into the Ladybug Land. This should keep your ladybugs fed for about a week. If and when the raisins disappear, put one more in as before. If you have plant leaves with aphids on them, you can put these into the Ladybug Land. Ladybugs love to eat aphids.

Use the enclosed pipette to drip two to three drops of fresh water onto the watering pad inside the Land’s mountain crater every other day. This will give the ladybugs some extra water to drink. Don’t overwater! Don’t add too much – the ladybugs don’t need a pond! Standing water can drown the ladybugs. Just keep the sponge moist.
If you see that the watering pad is moist, skip a day of watering. If you see fog, condensation, or water droplets form on the sides of the Land, do not add any water until it’s dried up.

Ladybug Activity: Ladybug Observation
Some ideas as you look closely at your ladybugs:
1. Look at one of your ladybugs and write in your journal what you can see using just your eyes.
2. Now look again using the magnifying lens. Write down the additional details you can now see.
3. Draw pictures of your ladybugs – be sure to try to draw views of the side and underside as well as the top view!
4. If you find a dead ladybug, take a careful look at her and write down any observations you can make.
See more ladybug activities at www.insectlore.com/activities.
Releasing Your Ladybugs
Take the Land outdoors, remove the dome, and let your ladybugs fly. If you want your ladybugs to stay in your backyard or garden, the morning is the best time to release them there. Make sure the temperatures are above 55 degrees before releasing. During Winter, keep them in the Land for their lifespan.




Questions & Answers

Q: How long does it take for my larvae to arrive?
Expect 1 to 3 weeks for delivery, although we try to make delivery faster.

Q: How often should I water and feed the ladybugs?
See the “Feeding and Watering Tips for Your Adult Ladybugs” section in this booklet.

Q: How long will my ladybugs live?
If you keep them in the Land, approximately 2 to 3 weeks. In the wild, they can live up to a year.

Q: How long should I keep the ladybugs in the Land?
We suggest releasing your ladybugs after one week. Make sure temperatures are above 55 degrees before releasing. During Winter, keep you ladybugs inside the Land for their entire life span.

Q: What are the spots I see on the inside of the Dome?
This is a bit of the fluid that ladybugs naturally exude. A sticky, stinky fluid comes from their feet, making them taste bad to their enemies.

Q: Can I hold a ladybug?
Sure! Just be careful when opening the Land. You don’t want too many escapees!

Q: If I have dead ladybugs in the Land, what should I do?
We suggest leaving them in the Land until you release all of the live ladybugs. If you try to remove the dead ladybugs, the live ladybugs may escape.

Q: I see no air holes in the ladybug land dome. Can the insects breathe?
Sure! The chamber contains more than enough air for their tiny lungs – think of it in human terms as a football stadium’s worth of air for 15 to 20 people.

Q: Can I reuse the Ladybug Land?
Sure! Refill kits of live ladybug larvae are available on our website at insectlore.com, or by calling the phone number below. You can also use the Ladybug Land habitat to house other insects – just be sure to release them after a few hours of interesting observation.