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misc Ladybug Porn

P. Dreadie said:
AJ ...... Guess you may know this but thought I'd say it anyway. On the praying mantis ..... their world is a cruel one. When they hatch there is lots of them. But the ones that get bigger faster start eating the little guys. They keep doing that until there is very few. It is harsh .... but they still do their job and eat the bad bugs too.

Peace,
P. Dreadie
Click to expand...

Also, the female eats the male after they mate. Eats his head off first.
 
I actually managed to get a shot of the little larva. I put my thumb drive next to it for scale. They're a few days old now and seem to be hanging out around the old egg sacks. I wasn't sure how they would fare after the leaf fell off the plant, but they seem to be doing just fine. I'm going to put it on one of the really badly affected plants.

ladybuglarva.jpg
 
So, how would one go about storing ladybugs? who you collect the eggs and freeze them or keep the eggs or larvae in a cold fridge to induce hibernation, then how long could they stay in that state?
Maybe I will do a google on preserving labybugs.
 
I haven't a clue as to how you would store them. I have seen some pics online where people have found HUGE piles of ladybugs on tree stumps, rocks or whatever. They usually just got up with a bucket and collect them that way. I've never been fortunate enough to stumble onto something like that. I usually have to hope they show up and procreate on my plants.
 
I found some in late october when I decided mow some leaves off my front lawn(we didn't have snow yet), yep they were bedded down under the leaves, not a good sight for the ones that got sucked into the lawnmower, the ones that got disturbed flew away - 100's of them.
 
So guess who shows up today? aphids on my carribean red hot!
The plants saw outside for the first time for two days, two weeks ago when we had 20C weather, then the cold and snow hit again.
So, today was nice enough to set them outside, I went about my business for the morning and thought I would check the puppies, I looked at the carribean and saw the classic white ecoskeletons, I said no way, they've only been out for a few hours, washed the plant immediately, let it sit for 2 hours then hit it again. Think I got them all...............little f#ckers.
 
Well get on them and stay on top of it BC! I'm finally starting to see a reduction in the overall number of aphids on my plants. I've also found a few more clutches of ladybug eggs :). I just keep moving the plants around so that they touch and provide pathways for the larva. They're growing pretty fast, but they should considering all the food I've provided them.
 
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