Ladybug Bug-Out

For Marni's 7th birthday we got her some creepy crawly bugs.

After all, it was only fair. Stella got butterflies for her 8th birthday. And not wanting to be left out, Marni requested ladybugs.

The baby bugs showed up via UPS along with their cute-as-a-bug habitat. We fed them and watched them grow bigger and juicier every day. Within a couple of weeks the larva all curled up into pupae and, when they emerged, were actual ladybugs.

It was interesting to watch the ladybugs emerge. At first, they had no spots. They were just a pale yellow/orange. But, within an hour all the spots would appear. Who knew?

We were all very excited about our 10 new family members. We fed them grapes and water and watched them scamper around their house.



This is a ladybug larva.

After about a week we (and by "we" I mean not Marni) decided it was time to let them go free and enjoy the great outdoors.

One evening we took them to the park across the street and opened their house. Slowly they began to explore their new freedom. Stella and Marni helped several of the shy ones by taking them out of the house and letting them crawl on their arms.

Eventually all the ladybugs flew off into the nearby flowers, and a somber Marni waved goodbye to her little babies.