Fly Away Home

The ladybugs arrived. They spent part of Day 1 on my desk, right next to my lunch. They began crawing around inside the airy container once they warmed up. I wondered if they could smell my burrito.

Instructions say to release the tiny army late in the afternoon, after the temperature cools off. We'd been in the middle of a heatwave, and there was no cooling off. I didn't want my miniature soldiers to spend time in the fridge (which the instructions said is an option) after spending two or three days in a box. So we released them in 80-degree heat.

I wish my little brothers and sisters could have done something like this when we were growing up! We had a blast with the ladybugs as they began exploring and immediately devouring aphids and gnats gone wild. They indeed were very hungry!

The next morning, we located about 20 to 30 of the 1,500 (minus about five who died en route). It was going to be another hot day. A very hot day. Maybe they were seeking shade. Maybe they dug into the dirt to stay cool.

The next day, we could find only one lady bug.

And then there were none.

The aphids and gnats are dive-bombing again. I may just have to order another army.

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