Anna, the Ladybug

Ellie has a pet. That is, if a ladybug even qualifies as a pet. About 3 weeks ago, Ellie brought a ladybug home; she held in her fist all the way home from church and then asked if she could keep it. After a long discussion about how the ladybug wants to be outside, might miss its family, needs fresh air, might die if we keep it in a cup, eats bugs and we don't have any bugs, and so on, her sad face won, and we began creating a little ladybug habitat.

What else do you do when you need to know how to care for your new pet? We googled it. And guess what? Ladybugs eat aphids, of course, but if you give it moistened non-acidic fruit (like a raisin or banana) and a moistened paper towel, it will get by just fine. So, our little ladybug home was complete, and she (according to Ellie) had a name, as well: Anna. Now, this is a nice name for a tiny orange spotted ladybug, I thought. I also thought that this bug was lucky to have survived the trip home and probably wouldn't make it through the afternoon, but what did I know? Here we are three weeks later, and Anna is happy as a lark in her tiny home.

Anna enjoying her apple slice. 

Who knew ladybugs even lived that long? Of course, she seizes any opportunity for escape while we change out her moist paper towel or the brown banana slice, but so far, she's not only alive, but seems pretty happy. Can you tell if a bug is happy? Food -- check. Water -- check. Oxygen -- check. I think that pretty much sums it up, but I still feel a little sorry for her in there.

Anna playing "How do I get out of here", her favorite pastime. 

We have tried a few different times to convince Ellie to release her, but You should really see this depressed look she gets. I don't know what we'll do when the thing bites it moves to the ladybug farm in the sky.

It boils down to the fact that my kids have asked about getting a pet more times than I can count. Apparently, Ellie decided to take matters into her own hands.



So, here is a video of our adorable little pet, Anna (sigh):