Live Ladybugs - Open Immediately

That's what the package said that was in my mailbox. I didn't purchase the Ladybug Land official habitat; I am going to be doing a makeshift habitat for them so thought I would write down my notes in case they were helpful to others. Farming & Gardening begins on Monday.

According to some helpful advice I got from my Yahoo Group, here is how to do it (I had asked if the Butterfly Pavilion would work):

"The ladybug house is hard plastic, not mesh and has a little sponge thing to add water to with a dropper, the larvae attach themselves to the hard plastic walls when they go into the pupae stage, I'm not sure what would happen w/ the mesh walls? So, while I haven't used (or looked closely) at the butterfly pavilion, they seem SOO different, I don't think it would work. You MIGHT be able to use a mason jar though? With a piece of wet tissue in the bottom for water? and ventilation holes in the lid (or fabric over the top instead of the seal? To me that would be more similar to the ladybug house than the butterfly pavilion."

"You'd need to find a way to provide that without the risk of them drowning--the habitat is specially designed for that. Also, the butterfly pavilion is pretty big for a dozen ladybugs, I don't know how well you would be able to watch them. We had 500 ladybugs in it! Personally, since the habitat is only about $7.00 more, I probably would buy it if I wanted to go with the larva."

"I think the pavilion would be fine if you offered plant material in it for the larva to grow on. Also for water I kept a cotton ball saturated with water in my cricket habitat."

"Be aware that they can drown in a dish of water, the habitat has a little felt (or similar) pad that you add a couple drops of water to every day, so in the mason jar you'll want to put something (as I think about it, a piece of felt would probably work best, the one in the habitat is probably about the size of a penny (maybe only a dime, I don't have it in front of me, it's packed somewhere from our recent move LOL) so doesn't have to be big) that you can put drops of water onto, not a dish of water."


Thanks to everyone for their suggestions! I put them all in one place so I can mull them over. Since now I have to OPEN IMMEDIATELY! :-)

I think I will go with a clear glass jar with a cotton ball soaked in water and see how it goes.