Ladybirds as teaching aids: 1 Collecting and culturing

Abstract

Ladybirds are popular insects with children. As a result, they have the potential to be useful as teaching aids for a range of biological subjects. One of the major drawbacks in the past has been the lack of information on the methods for obtaining ladybirds in the field and for caring for and breeding ladybirds in the laboratory. We here describe methods we have used for finding and collecting ladybirds during the Cambridge Ladybird Survey, and the methods we have developed for culturing ladybirds over the past nine years. The techniques described cover most of the British species.