Subject: Re: Can I keep ladybugs alive?

From: [email-masked] (GARDEN 7)
Date: 21 Mar 1995 20:53:40 -0500

As I write I have about 100 ladybugs in a mason jar in my fridge. 
Last fall, when the ladybugs were getting in clusters near my patio doors
getting ready for winter, I got my mason jar and started gathering.  I put
a few sticks in the jar for them to cluster on.  You should put a couple
of cotton balls in the jar too.  Saturate them with water.  Keep the jar
in the fridge.  Every two weeks, take the jar out of the fridge so that
the bugs can get a drink from the wet cotton balls. The bugs will live off
their "fat" so they don't need any food.  Do NOT leave the jar out of the
fridge more than 20 min.  It messes up their hibernation.  I almost
forgot, poke a lot of holes in the lid or use screen on top so the bugs
can breathe. Set them free when there is food for them to eat outside.(
Like your garden)  Have fun.                              T. Taylor

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From: [email-masked] (GARDEN 7)
Date: 23 Mar 1995 20:18:23 -0500

I'll try to answer the questions the best I can.  
1.  Do the spots on lady bugs mean anything?  I don't have a clue.  I've
     wondered about this myself and after careful examination have come 
     to the conclusion that lady bugs are like snowflakes, no two are
alike.
     Some of mine have pinpoint spots, others are covered with large
spots.
2.  Lady bugs cluster together in a sheltered spot in the winter.  I have
come
     across clusters that looked to have around 30 bugs in them.  
3.  Do the ladybugs actually all climb down, get a drink, and then climb 
     back up?  The bugs seem to "wake up" slowly.  About every other month
     I dump the jar onto some newspaper and wait for movement.  Any bugs 
     that move go back into the jar.  Any bugs that haven't moved after 10
min. 
     get dumped outside.  They eventually will find the wet cotton ball
and drink,
     then they wander around the jar for a while.  By that time it's time
to go 
     back in the fridge.  Thay are usually clustered again by the next
day.  And
     Yes, I think it is triggered by the temperature change.

By the way, I'll pass on some information you might find interesting. 
I've heard 
that it is not the lady bugs that you release, but the offspring they have
that eat the aphids.  Makes sense to me.                             T.
Taylor

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From: [email-masked] (Robbo)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 16:29:15 GMT

>Like your garden)  Have fun.                              T. Taylor

I have a few questions about lady bugs and may be coming to this
discussion late.
1).  Do the spots on lady bugs signify anything?
2).  Where do ladybugs go in the winter;  where do they hibernate in
the wild?
3).  When taking the jar out every two weeks, do the ladybugs actually
all climb down, get a drink, and then climb back up?  Is the "drink
getting" triggered by the temperature change?

Thanks in advance,
Robbo

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From: [email-masked] (Harry Boswell)
Date: 21 Mar 1995 19:46:50 GMT

Since I've got these hundreds of ladybugs hanging around my house, I
wondered if I could capture some and keep them alive until summer, when
I could let them go in my garden.  Anybody know about this?

--
Harry Boswell                 [email-masked]  
Information Technology Laboratory
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers        Vicksburg, MS

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From: [email-masked] (sonny hays-eberts)
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 1995 09:41:50 -0700

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (GARDEN 7)

>      Some of mine have pinpoint spots, others are covered with large

the one thing to be aware of is that there is a ladybug imposter. it has a
very specific spot pattern. the cucumber beetle is similar too, although
the ones i see here in oregon are yellow, not orange. i don't have my
reference books here, so i'm not sure what the other is. a back issue of
organic gardening had an article on ladybugs. there are several varieties,
including a few with no spots.
there were color variations as well.

> that eat the aphids.  Makes sense to me. 

last year, for some odd reason, the aphids in our garden were attracted to
thistles, instead of our roses and cole crops. i didn't complain, i just
let the thistles attract them. but i did see quite a few adult ladybugs
there as well; laying eggs or eating aphids, i don't know.                 

-- 
like the forest's fight for sunlight, it takes root in every tree
pulled upwards by the magnet, believing they are free
         -- genesis

sonny hays-eberts
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (GARDEN 7)
Date: 21 Mar 1995 20:53:40 -0500

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From: [email-masked] (GARDEN 7)
Date: 23 Mar 1995 20:18:23 -0500

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From: [email-masked] (Robbo)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 16:29:15 GMT

Thanks in advance,
Robbo

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From: [email-masked] (sonny hays-eberts)
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 1995 09:41:50 -0700

sonny hays-eberts

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From: [email-masked] (Andy Hill)
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 1995 21:03:24 GMT

>that eat the aphids.  Makes sense to me. 
The larvae are the biggest aphid eaters.  However, the adults will
chow down on a few, also.