Lady Bug, Lady Bug!

Lady Bugs - from science to math - oh what fun! We counted and graphed our way through the interesting facts of this beautiful insect. A fully engaged group was on my hands and we dove deep into Lady Bug land. Did you know that there are over 4,000 different species of Lady Bugs in the world? And ask your children about the stages of the Lady Bug life cycle. They will surely tell you there are four stages that make up the life of the lady bug. I dare you to ask!

The children thought it was quite interesting that this cute insect starts out as an egg. In 3-5 day it hatches and starts it journey in the larval stage.  After eating 25 aphids a day for up to 30 days, it continues with the Pupa stage and 3-5 days later transforms into the beautiful Lady Bug or Adult stage we are seeing right now in our homes. What! Did you wonder where the Lady Bugs have been this winter? Well they have hibernating in a warm (probably undisclosed location) in our homes. 

A true sign of spring when the Lady Bug comes out from the cracks in our homes. We will continue to explore the woods and trails around our beautiful spot on Little Round Top Mountain. We will watch for new signs, notice the changing conditions in weather, with the trees and with the natural life of bird song and insects that will be rejoining us both from afar and from a long winter's sleep. What signs of spring have you seen?