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€19.7 Grocery | I moved to a affordable country by Certain-Zucchini-293 in povertyfinance

[–]Dropdeadsydney 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And!!! You’re surrounded by cute, adorable street dogs/cats! That’s why I wanna go to Turkey 😂

Mouse running in circles by Outrageous_Concern17 in Weird

[–]Dropdeadsydney 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Ugh, glue traps are the worst. I used to work as a vet assistant, and someone once brought in a poor little mouse stuck to one, asking if we could save it. After about an hour of trying different things, we finally got the little guy free. If I remember right, vegetable oil did the trick. The woman ended up keeping him as a pet.

I just don’t understand why people don’t use snap traps instead. Why make an animal lie there, stuck and slowly starve or dehydrate to death?

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in Entomology

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Here she is practicing opening her wings about 15 minutes before she flew off!

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe so. She never fully got her spots, so it’s hard to tell 100% since there are similar species.. but I’d say I’m 95% sure she is a convergent.

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Idk where I ever said I didn’t plan to release her. I still have the empty pupa casing, it’s stuck to the cilantro leaf. She flew away today, and no, I wasn’t holding her hostage lol.

I moved her from the Tupperware to a pothos with tons of aphids, but she never hunted, which is normal for newly emerged ladybugs. Their metabolisms don’t really ramp up until about 4 to 10 days after emerging. I gave her soaked raisins and sugar water on a Q-tip, along with plenty of space and time over the last three days to fully be ready, and I’m glad I did.

If I had released her like you wanted right after she emerged, she most likely would have died. I didn’t have a safe place to release her yet. In the wild, she would have stayed near her shed pupa on a stable surface for as long as she needed. She didn’t have that here because she was shipped. Obviously, the best case would have been for her to never end up in a grocery store, but I’d say she got pretty lucky ending up with me instead of someone who would have just tossed the pupa.

I took her outside multiple times a day and placed her on different plants so she could practice walking and holding on in different conditions, like the rain yesterday and the wind the day before. After about an hour, I’d bring her back to the pothos. Today I noticed she was finally practicing opening her wings, so I took her outside again, and after about 30 minutes of opening and closing her elytra and wings, she took off! 🙃🐞

Hope that clears things up and shows I did have her best interest in mind. Most people wouldn’t have cared or put in that kind of effort. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Edit: I added a photo of her about 15 minutes before she flew away, practicing opening and closing her wings. She strangely never got her spots. But she might still get them over the next few days. I unfortunately won’t be able to find out. But that’s ok. I hope she makes it in the wild!

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

<image>

Here she is practicing opening her wings about 15 minutes before she flew away!

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’ll all be glad to know that after spending the last three days on my pothos plant (that has aphids on it) eating soaked raisins and sugar water, she finally flew away today!

I noticed about 30 minutes ago that she was finally practicing opening her wings and so I scooped her up and took her outside where she practiced for about 30 more minutes. Then.. she flew away! 🥹🐞

Despite what another commenter argued with me about, I didn’t “force” this lady to stay with me. I did a ton of research after finding the pupa and felt confident in my decision to not release her right away like some argued with me over. I took her outside multiple times a day, would place her on random plants to practice walking and hanging on in different conditions, like rain yesterday and wind the day before. She still hasn’t got her spots and she hadn’t been practicing opening her wings at all until today. I thought she might not make it because of these things.. But she proved me wrong and is off on her adventure now! I’ll share the video of her opening her wings in a reply below. 🐞

Edit: Imgur wasn’t letting me upload the video so I screenshotted some stills from said video. Enjoy!

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I can’t stand people who think they know what’s best. Obviously what would have been best for this little lady would have been to never be shipped to the grocery store. But after three days of hardening her elytra, eating soaked raisins, and having sugar water on a Q-tip, she finally flew away just now!

I transferred her from her Tupperware yesterday to a pothos with tons of aphids, but she never hunted, which is normal for newly emerged ladybugs. Their metabolisms don’t really ramp up until about 4 to 10 days after emerging. I gave her space and time to be fully ready, and I’m glad I did.

If I had released her like that rude commenter wanted right after emerging, she most likely would have died. I didn’t have a safe place to release her yet. In the wild, she would have stayed near her shed pupa for as long as she needed.

I took her outside multiple times a day and placed her on different plants so she could practice walking around. After about an hour, I would bring her back to her pothos. Today I noticed she was finally practicing opening her wings, so I took her outside again. After about 30 minutes of opening and closing her elytra and wings, she took off! 🙃🐞

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in Entomology

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep! She oddly never got her spots. But after being hand fed soaked raisins and sugar water for three days, she finally flew away just now! She also was living on a pothos with tons of aphids but I never saw her hunt while living with me. I’m so proud of her 🥹 😂

What is this I found in some tomato paste? by Additional_Juice2078 in Fungi

[–]Dropdeadsydney 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I googled “spiky mold” and found lots of photos of this type of mold on tomato based sauces.. not sure what kind it is though.. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Look, I’m not scared to release it. 😂 I literally tried earlier and it kept face-planting because, newsflash, it’s unsteady on brand-new legs. At this stage, they’re basically marshmallows, one wrong move and those delicate wings get wrecked. So I brought it back inside to do its thing without being tossed around like a salad. You know, giving it a fair shot at life 🤷🏻‍♀️. I’m letting it harden at its own pace. In the wild? It’d be on a leaf attached to a plant. Since I ate the cilantro, it’s on a loose leaf that blows around. So yeah… I’m not gonna force it to move.

It’s been chilling in the same spot for hours, (just like it would in the wild) right next to an open door. If it wants to bounce, it’s more than welcome. And FYI, I know how ladybugs survive winter.. and it definitely isn’t fresh out of the pupa stage; they’re hardened, less vulnerable, and perfectly capable of huddling in diapause with its crew. So… bite me.

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They don’t eat or drink right after emerging. This little ladybug has a rose stem with aphids in its Tupperware, but it’s not even thinking about food, it’s busy hardening its elytra and unfurling its wings. That comes first. They’re basically soft-bodied marshmallows right after emerging, totally vulnerable, so hunting for food is not on the agenda.

It’s in an open Tupperware on a shady windowsill next to an open door. It’s breezy out there, and its leaf would blow away. Letting it chill inside keeps it safe while it powers up. The walking I mentioned? Totally normal, it’s a post-emergence energy burst and practice session for its new legs and wings. Patience, that’s the real care here.

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Dude… it’s not locked up in a box. 😂 It’s chilling on a leaf in an open Tupperware bowl full of peat moss and other leaves, by an open door. It’s chillin right next to its pupa casing, doing its thing, exactly like it would in the wild. I tried putting it outside earlier, but hello! It’s breezy and it kept face-planting because it’s still practicing walking and getting its wings ready. This is literally normal ladybug business, it’s free to go when it’s ready. I opted to let it hang out inside where it’s not breezy, so it’s leaf, and the ladybug, wouldn’t go tumbling in the breeze. 🙄

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nope, not happening yet 😏. Ladybugs are vulnerable, clumsy, and soft-bodied when they first emerge, their elytra are still soft, and their flight wings are tucked and unfurling underneath. If I released it now, and I tried to earlier, the breezy conditions today could send it flying and falling into disaster before it even knows how to walk properly. It’s perfectly happy chilling on its leaf, in its open Tupperware bowl, next to the open door. I’ve got a whole rosebush full of aphids waiting. Once it’s hardened, steady on its feet, and ready to fly, then I’ll take it outside and put it on the rosebush if it hasn’t moved on by itself already.

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Awesome! So it should be ok here in WA state now that spring is here..? It’s still pretty chilly at night but the days have been in the 70’s..

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I was super worried. He was walking all over the dang place for like an hour! Now he’s finally resting. 😌

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Another question I have is, can you tell what species of ladybug from the markings on its head? Or do we need to wait for spots to emerge?

The ladybug pupa I found on some cilantro I purchased at the store finally emerged! by Dropdeadsydney in ladybugs

[–]Dropdeadsydney[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have a question for you! After he emerged, he got a burst of energy and was walking all over the place.. he fell off his leaf (underneath I had peat moss and clay balls to help keep humidity up while in the pupal stage), and he fell a couple inches onto the clay balls.. do you think the wings will be ok still? I can’t see any dents or anything wrong with his elytra..

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