Gabriela got the coolest birthday present from her friend, Keady in Virginia. A Ladybug Land. We all had a blast watching these babies grow. When we were ready, we sent away for the larvae to arrive in the mail. While we waited, we read several books about ladybugs and started a ladybug journal. Gabriela and I would choose a ladybug fact - I'd write it down and she would draw a picture.
We watched our larvae crawl around and molt several times. One night, Lane and I watched as they attached themselves to the sides of the enclosure, ready for their metamorphosis. It was like science fiction. The larvae turned bright yellow, puffed up and out and after doing this several times, their bodies changed shapes and hardened. Then we waited.
I took dictation from Gabriela about her observations. Her dictation was the best. ever.
We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Gilroy one weekend, and thank goodness I brought them along because on Sunday morning we noticed one had transformed into a ladybug. Then next thing we knew, they were all crawling out of their hard pupa covering. They were a pale yellow when they came out and we could actually watch their spots appear and darken on their bodies. It was fascinating!
Gabriela named them all. The ladybugs' bodies are wet and soft when they emerge and they need to open their wings and stay still while their bodies dry. Well, Got Stuck to Their Skin got stuck to her larvae skin while her body was hardening, so she wasn't able to detach all the way. I had to perform an intervention and reach in to set her free. Apparently, I should have staged this intervention sooner.
The weird thing was that Got Dead wasn't actually dead. At least not at first. She held on tight, that Got Dead.
After a few days of observing the ladybugs crawl around, we decided to set them free at the rose garden at Lincoln Park, our local park hangout. We found some plants that had aphids for the ladybugs to munch on.
Before the release
There are lots more entries in the ladybug journal. And Gabriela's drawings are so precious! I am so happy we will have this book to remember our cool ladybug watching experience. I'd never watched this process before. Gabriela truly learned a lot from it. We have a butterfly kit too! We are going to wait a while before we send away for our caterpillars. I'm sure it will be just as exciting and interesting. Thanks, Keady for such a wonderful and fun learning experience for our family!
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