How to Feed Ladybugs

Ladybugs may eat mealybugs or scales, but their primary food source is aphids.

Children are entranced by ladybugs, with their bright red coats and bold black dots. Many children --- often heard reciting the nursery rhyme "Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home. Your house is on fire. And your children all gone" --- want to keep this tiny insect as a pet in a jar. Doing so requires adding vegetation, a few drops of water and enormous amounts of food --- for a ladybug, that is.

Things You'll Need

• Fresh plant material
• Twigs
• Recycled jars or bug cage
• Water
• Medicine dropper
• 5-inch square window screen
• Rubber band
• Butterfly net
• Aphids

Instructions

1. Place fresh grass in the bottom of a glass jar or bug cage. Add several twigs to provide the ladybug with something to climb and to allow children to watch the ladybug easily.

2. Drop two or three drops of water from a medicine dropper onto the bottom of the jar to provide moisture for the ladybug.

3. Place the ladybug in its new home and close the cover. If using a recycled jar for the ladybug home, stretch a section of window screen or similar material over the top and secure it with a rubber band.

4. Gather aphids from outside plants with a butterfly net by sweeping the net through vegetation. Tiny aphids fall into the net, allowing you to gather them for the ladybug.

5. Pour the aphids into a jar and seal it tightly while you gather more. Your ladybug eats up to 50 aphids a day. Although some ladybugs eat mealybugs or plant insects called scales, their primary food source is aphids.

6. Add live aphids to the ladybug's home to provide it with a tasty meal.

Tips & Warnings

• If using a bug cage for your ladybug home, check that the air holes are not big enough to allow aphids to escape. Cover with screening or a piece of sheer curtain to prevent the aphids from escaping, if necessary.

• Change the vegetation in the jar daily to keep the ladybug home clean and fresh.

References

• Broward College: Lady Bugs