@Rikki Gins Out of curiosity Rikki, how does one get a bag of Ladybugs? Never knew one could get that. I would, simply because I like Ladybugs and would like to see them around.
Hi
@ShayP. If you look at the bottom of the picture of ladybugs you will see some plastic netting material, which is actually the top of the bag that I snipped open with scissors. I tell you what, as soon as the container is opened, the ladybugs go charging out and they get on my hands before I have a chance to attach the bag to the tree. (I usually take a couple of thumb tacks and nail the bag to the tree.) I pour some sugar water on the tree, just above the bag and the ladybugs will stop and drink the stuff before moving on. When I say 'moving on' well, that's what they pretty much do. They seem to head off for parts unknown unless you happen to have some critical aphid problems, or an excess of other types of insects that the ladybugs like to eat. Even so, I can often see a ladybug that has decided to stick around, for up to a week or so. After that, they go though their life cycles and you might wind up seeing a number of generations of ladybugs in one summer.
You might find some ladybugs at a grange, or garden center type of store if you have them there in Richmond. I get my ladybugs at a local Fred Meyer store that has a garden section. They hang the pouches in a row (up and down) and they are kind of hard to notice unless you are looking for them. (They also sell praying mantis eggs but I have never had much luck in getting those to hatch.) Each pouch holds hundreds of ladybugs and it takes several hours for them to crawl to freedom. There are lots of dead ladybugs at the bottom of the pouch...not sure how long their transit time is. Anyway, ladybugs are fun to watch. Hope you can find them somewhere. Cheers.