Aphids Beware!

Raising beneficials! My son and I had great success raising butterflies, so I purchased him the Ladybug Land Kit also by Insect Lore. You can see a larvae on the paper and on the wall of the dome. We've only had them about a week and just yesterday they started hanging on the sides of the dome (the beginning of their pupal stage). In about 5 days we should have some beneficial ladybugs to release into our garden!

Join the Great Sunflower Project

Check out my favorite gardening sites. One of which is for the Great Sunflower Project. You can participate for free! All you need is a half an hour and one of the plants on their list. Sit and observe how many bees visit for a half and hour and report back with your data. They have a log for you to print out to keep track of the number of visits by different types of bees, the temperature, time of day, etc. This would be a great activity to do with your children. My son and I are participating for the first time this year. They will even put you on a mailing list for Lemon Queen sunflower seeds (the main plant they would like you to observe if possible). Although the mailing of seeds may be done for this season, you can still participate by using other plants. Check out their website and provide them information about the bees where you live.