A little known fact i see missed very often is that ladybug larvae can and do eat more mites and harmful pests than adult ladybugs do. Another benefit of buying larvae or breeding adults to get larvae is that they have not developed into beetles and do not yet have wings so you dont buy 500 adults that fly into your hps bulb and fry themselves and your also sweeping up dead bugs everywhere when they starve, the larvae can/do mature but they eat themselves out of food in an indoor garden if the problem is not out of control. they eat the pests in all cycles of their lives as well from egg to dead body. just thought id throw this out as i learned the hard way, they still are not a great means of control unless you get the infestation quickly before it is everywhere but they are a better alternative to the adults for those who chose to go the way of predatory insects for control.
I myself find them better for preventative measures rather than controlling an invasion. I keep 50 or so ladybug adults from my yard in the spring they seem to bunch up on cedar tree bases, i keep them in a small plastic hobby bug tank they are common easy to find and the two i have gotten at walmart have lids with air vents that keep the adults in and allow the larvae out they work perfect. keep some raisins and a cotton ball in a dish or a bottle cap full of water (to refill do not open they escape fast just drip thru air vents onto the cotton), its that easy they will eat and breed fast. put a few stick leaning on the side close to the vents so juveniles can escape. and just keep the tank near the crop. good luck hope this helps didnt know where to post hope im not off track for the post.happy growing
